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In the oven: Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

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The recipe for November 6 just screams fall! Pumpkin, dark brown sugar (of course), cayenne pepper, black pepper and over a cup of sharp cheddar get together to make savory-sweet muffins, as part of the breakfast chapter of the book (page 25).

So what do you think? Excited about this one? Going to source out raw-milk cheddar as per Matt’s recommendation?

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin purée
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups (about 4 ounces) grated sharp cheddar
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with a little bit of vegetable spray and use a paper towel to spread the oil evenly along the bottom and up the sides of each cup.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and sour cream. Add the eggs and butter and whisk until combined.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and brown sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and fold until just combined. Fold in three-quarters of the cheese.

4. Dive the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and the pumpkin seeds on top of the muffins. Bake them for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the muffin pan cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out the muffins. Serve them warm.

5. Muffins taste best when eaten fresh, but they can be made ahead of time and reheated in a 200-degree oven.

Excerpted from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copyright © 2010 by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Excerpted by permission of Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Comments

  1. I’m a longtime, passionate hater of pumpkin. But I’ll still make these, and definitely going to look for good cheddar.

    Who knows, I might like them. I loved the pumpkin chocolate chip loaf.

  2. i feel weird about this combination… but we’ll try it anyways. there hasn’t been many bad recipes so far! not sure i’ll buy the expensive cheese though…

  4. sounds interesting, just found some hoop cheese yesterday and think I will give this a try :)

  5. I’m not much of a savory muffin/bread person but will definitely make them. Sharp cheddar in the fridge was the deciding factor!

  6. The muffins are amazing…..I did make some adjustments due to what was on hand….self rising flour, only had lite brown sugar so added some blackstrap molasses and used hoop cheddar cheese….these muffins have just the right amount of spiciness to them……love love love them

  11. It will be fun to see all your pumpkin muffins. There were really great right out of the oven…no patience to let them cool. Perfect with a bowl of hot soup on this cold wintery day here in Phoenix…they’d be good for breakfast too. They are even better than I imagined.