Pumpkin & Ginger Muffins II

After the first batch of ultimately displeasing pumpkin & ginger muffins, I knew a better batch was eventually going to get made. Something chock full of both pumpkin and ginger that exemplifies fall (okay, and spring in the case of the ginger, but let's be real here, ginger is a fall flavor).

These are definitely better than the first batch, but they still aren't perfect. The pumpkin taste is just not there, even though the ginger is just right in my book. It creates a decent pop in texture and a not-too-harsh tingle in your throat. My goal is to get the opinion of someone who has a more refined palette than I to see what he thinks. I'll let you know how that works out.

The recipe I worked with was from Crumbly Cookie. Aside from slight changes, I doubled it because a batch of eight? Is just not enough.

----------------------------------

Pumpkin & Ginger Muffins

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 c candied ginger

2 eggs

1/2 + 1/8 c packed brown sugar

1 1/4 c pureed pumpkin

6 tbsp butter, melted

4 tbsp milk

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger and cinnamon and candied ginger together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until combined. Whisk in pumpkin, butter and milk. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and fold in until just combined. Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 16.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cupcakes

A few years back I made some pumpkin butterscotch cookies for some friends of mine. You could taste the pumpkin so clearly without it being *too* pumpkiny, while the butterscotch held its own nicely. Tonight I attempted to turn that into a cupcake.

These don't taste anything like those cookies, but are still really good regardless. My biggest problem with them is that they don't have the defining pumpkin taste I wanted. I seem to fail at bringing the pumpkin flavor out of things.

These are good enough that they don't actually need to be frosted, but I would never send a cupcake into the field naked. That's preposterous.  The frosting I made for these works in flavor, but not in consistency. It sort of started liquefying as I was using it. So! I'm putting that in the tasty failure bin.

----------------------------------
Pumpkin Butterscotch Cupcakes

2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 c pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 c butterscotch chips

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. In separate bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and brown sugar. Add in eggs and mix until well blended. Mix in half of flour mixture, followed by the milk and vanilla, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Add pumpkin and mix until well combined. Fold in butterscotch chips. Fill liners about 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Makes 16.

Pumpkin & Ginger Muffins (500 Cupcakes)

Oddly enough, the first recipe I chose to try from my 500 Cupcakes book was a muffin, which is not a cupcake. NOT a cupcake. This was the first non-cupcakey muffin I've had...maybe ever. That's partially why I wanted to make these. The other reason was because it's autumn (even though the snow is already here) and using pumpkin in some form is damn near obligatory.

That being said, I didn't particularly like these muffins. There was no discernible pumpkin flavor, there was no punchy ginger taste. Color me disappointed. Here's the recipe regardless:

----------------------------------

Pumpkin & Ginger Muffins:

2 2/3 c flour
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 c pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
3/4 c milk (they call for low-fat, which I didn't use)
1/3 c vegetable oil (they call for sunflower, which I didn't have)
3 tbsp candied ginger
4 tbsp pumpkin seeds (which I also didn't use, because frankly, ew)

Mix dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Beat together egg, pumpkin, milk and oil until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until nearly combined. Fold in candied ginger. Sprinkle seeds on top of batter after you've spooned in into liners. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

---------------------------------