Zucchini, Carrot, and Cranberry Muffins

I purchased The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook eons ago, and it has sadly been collecting dust on my bookshelf until now. John Barricelli is one heckuva pastry chef, and I totally admire his accomplishments. With Martha Stewart complementing and backing his talents, you know that he is a pastry rock star.

Yes, I fantasize about opening a bakery like his...

There are so many delicious sounding recipes and drool-worthy photos in the book. Which recipe should I try first? It only took a few page flips to decide.

I love zucchini bread. I love carrot cake. This recipe for Zucchini, Carrot, and Cranberry Muffins combines the best of both worlds.

The recipe calls for a equal portion of shredded zucchini and carrots.
A generous help of cranberries (frozen Trader Joe's cranberries here) are folded in batter. I used Trader Joe's frozen cranberries in this instance, but I think any tart berry or fruit would be a perfect substitution. I might try this with frozen raspberries next time.

The muffins smelled heavenly as they baked in the oven. After a quick rest on the cooling rack, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into one of these babies.

Yum! The orange and green flecks from the shredded veggies are so pretty, and they gave the muffin a nice, moist texture. The cranberries were really yummy, and I enjoyed the tartness from the fruit.

Wow, I regret that I waited so long to bake from this book.

Better late than never. I can't wait to try more recipes going forward...


Zucchini, Carrot, and Cranberry Muffins
barely adapted from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook by John Barricelli
makes 12 muffins

2 C AP flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
1 C sugar
1 C canola oil
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 C finely grated carrots (approx 1 medium)
3/4 C finely grated zucchini (approx 1 medium)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 C whole fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Mix in the grated zucchini and carrots.

Fold in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in the cranberries.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Rotate the pan mid way through the baking time.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out muffins on their side in the muffin cups, and let cool in the pan. Serve warm or at room temp.

Fresh Fig Muffins

When my husband and I purchased our home way back when, we were particularly thrilled that our backyard had a variety of fruit trees growing: orange, grapefruit, lemon, peach and fig.

During the summers, we would gorge ourselves silly with the bounty of peaches and figs that we harvested from our postage stamp sized backyard. I didn't do a lot of cooking and baking back then, so most of the fruit was eaten fresh, and what we didn't eat were shared with family and friends.

Fast forward 10 years, and it was time for us to embark on a massive home remodel. For various reasons, we had to relinquish the fruit trees had to go to make our outdoor living space practical and accessible. It was truly a sad day when our backyard was demo'ed, and we bid adieu to our fruit trees.

I miss those fruit trees, especially the fig tree. I've grown to love the lush, juicy texture, the slight crunch from the seeds, and the earthy sweetness of the ripe fruit. When figs are in season at the farmers market (which is right now), I will pounce on baskets of this delicious fruit.

I've always enjoyed eating figs very simply - fresh figs, chevre and honey is my favorite. Recently, I've started to explore cooking and baking with the fruit.

I've recently discovered that dried figs are a fantastic substitution for raisins and other dried fruits in recipes. Now, before the season is over, I want to explore recipes using fresh figs.
I thought that this recipe for fresh fig muffins would be a great start for me. These muffins are not fussy, and I like that.

These muffins are soft and fluffy, and the figs basically melt into the muffin. The dark brown sugar and cinnamon provide a subtle spiciness to the cake, but still allow the flavor of the figs to shine.

With the success of this recipe, I'll definitely be doing some more cooking and baking with figs with the few weeks left this summer. I found this list of "what to do with figs recipes" while surfing on the web, and I'm definitely going to take some of the suggested recipes for a test drive. If you have a tried and true recipe using fresh figs, I would love to hear about it!
---------------------------------------

Fresh Fig Muffins
adapted from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco
makes 12 muffins

1 C AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 C buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C dark brown sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 C chopped fresh mission figs (5-6 figs)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Generously butter a standard 12 cup muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In a second small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until well combined.

With the mixer at low speed, alternate adding the the dry and liquid ingredients - 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 buttermilk mixture, 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 buttermilk mixture, 1/3 flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.

Remove bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the figs.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full.

Bake until the muffins are a deep golden brown in color, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then turn out muffins from the pan and let them cool completely on the wire rack.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bread (TWD)

Things have a bit hazy for me this past week, as I've been fighting a nasty respiratory infection. Feeling under the weather + medication + hot summer weather = yuck!

Under normal circumstances, this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Oatmeal Breakfast Bread would be a cinch to prepare. However, in my medicated state I was a complete ding dong and left out the most important ingredient - oats. Hello, it's in the recipe title for goodness sake!

For a change of pace, this Dorie Greenspan breakfast bread (you can find the complete recipe at Natalie's blog, Oven Love) leans on the healthy side of things, with applesauce and a little oil taking the place of butter. With an addition of dried fruit (dried figs in my case), oats (unfortunately, no oats this time), and a sprinkling of nuts (sliced almonds topped my loaves), this looks like a semi-healthy breakfast bread. Just ignore the cup of sugar that the recipe calls for.

I put my "once in a blue moon" mini loaf pan to use again, and the full recipe yielded exactly eight mini loaves. These small loaves baked in a 325 degree oven for approx 25 minutes.


True to Dorie's description, this bread is super soft and tender and it needed to cool substantially before I could remove the loaves from the pan.

These unassuming looking loaves were delicious! I did miss the oats, as I think they would have given a nice textural contrast to the soft crumb. The dried figs were fantastic, as they give a nice chew and just a touch of sweetness.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm going back to bed...

Sweet Cream Biscuits (TWD)

{Due to some serious procrastination, I'm doubling up on TWD this week, with the delicious Swedish Visiting Cake preceding this post.}

Flour, cream, sugar, baking powder, salt --- with this short and readily accessible list of ingredients, you can whip up these soft and fluffy Sweet Cream Biscuits.

I enjoy noshing on homemade biscuits - as long as someone else does the baking. My prior experiences with biscuit making have resulted with sad, flat, dense rounds of dough, so I've given up trying --- until now.
In this recipe, heavy cream is used in place of butter and milk, so I was definitely curious to see how these would turn out.

In the book, Dorie Greenspan calls for a combination of all-purpose and cake flour (alternatively, using 100% all-purpose flour will also work). After combining a short list of dry ingredients, a generous amount of heavy cream is added to make the dough.

As I worked with the sticky dough, I was already doubting that these biscuits would turn out. I've definitely been negatively conditioned by my previous biscuit fails. I cut the dough into rounds, popped them into the oven, and hoped for the best.

Biscuit success! The biscuits rose beautifully in the oven, and they came out golden brown with a wonderfully light and fluffy texture.

These biscuits don't need much more than a slathering of butter and jam, as they were so delicious on their own.

Thanks to Melissa of Love At First Bite for a fantastic selection this week...hop over to Melissa's blog for this recipe. Make sure to peruse the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll for more biscuit deliciousness.

Blueberry Scones

So, why in the world did I subject myself to a three week cleanse? I was definitely motivated to improve my health - to rid myself of toxins and to reset my body to function effectively and efficiently are pretty compelling reasons. Of all of the crazy detox plans that I've tortured myself with, this was definitely the most effective and the most reasonable in terms of food consumption. I definitely experienced the benefits of the cleanse --- weight loss (8 lbs for me), sleeping better (I was raging insomniac), increased energy, and improved skin complexion. To learn more about this detox, read Clean by Alessandro Junger MD and/or check out the Clean Program website.

This detox also gave me an opportunity to get centered and to reset mentally and emotionally. Back in January, I decided to quit my job of 8 years and to walk away from a work environment that made me tremendously unhappy. I had a lot of raised eyebrows around me - they think I'm crazy quitting a job in this economy! Did I question my decision - absolutely! Ultimately, I have no regrets about this move.

Even more eye-opening were the reactions of my ex-colleagues. Some have been extraordinarily supportive and have truly been there for me (you guys know who you are - thank U!). For others, they have let their true colors show, and it has been very disappointing.

I'm over it....and I've moved on. After a brief haitus, I'm back working for a new entrepeneurial venture, and it's been great! I'm working with great colleagues, and we're all really thrilled about the future prospects of our business.

During my mind and body detox, I ate a serious boatload of blueberries (you can call me Violet Beauregarde). Those little blue gems were blended into prepackaged smoothies to make them more palatable and were the perfect snack to stave off hunger. I had bags of Trader Joe's wild blueberries stocked in my freezer, and I wanted to make something with them that didn't involve a blender.

During the cleanse, I had really intense cravings for breakfast carbs. You name it, I craved it --- buttered toast, pancakes, french toast, waffles, scones. As I had all the ingredients for scones handy, they were whipped up in flash one morning. Eaten warm out the of the oven, these scones are light and flaky, and just slightly sweet. I especially love using TJ's wild blueberries in these scones, as the berries are small but very flavorful.

Blueberry Scones
adapted slightly from the Foster's Market Cookbook
makes 18 scones

4 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 C frozen blueberries (do not defrost)
1 1/4 C plus 2 tbsp buttermilk
Egg wash: 1 lrg egg beaten w. 2 tbsp milk

- preheat oven to 400F degrees
- line two baking sheets with parchment or silpat and set aside
- combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl
- add the butter and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or 2 knives (I like to use my fingers). Do not overwork the dough.
- add the frozen blueberries
- add 1 1/4 C buttermilk and mix until just combined and the dough comes together. If the dough appears too dry, add buttermilk 1 tbsp at a time.
- turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into thirds. Pat the three portions into rounds about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut each round into 6 wedges and place on the baking sheets. Brush tops with the egg wash.
- bake 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Cocoa-Nana Bread (TWD)

I need to quit this habit of JIT (just-in-time) blogging. Hopefully, I'll get this post up before the day is out.

Fortunately for me, this week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection of Cocoa-Nana Bread was mercifully easy, and I was able to bake and photograph the goods before I polished off my last cup of coffee this morning.

This quick bread recipe is intended as a breakfast treat that combines the flavors of chocolate and banana. You've got to love a recipe that slips in a healthy dose of chocolate into breakfast food.

I was a bit underwhelmed with the final results. The look of this dark brown loaf is deceiving, as the chocolate flavor wasn't very intense, and you could barely taste the two bananas that went into the batter. Still, I did appreciate that it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet, so it wouldn't assult the taste buds first thing in the morning.

Of course, I had my sous chef Siena hovering in the kitchen looking for some crumbs to fall:

Sorry girl...

Please visit Steph's blog, Obsessed With Baking, for the full recipe.

Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake (TCS)

After a year of baking some really delicious and TALL cakes from Sky High: Irresistable Triple Layer Cakes, The Cake Slice group has switched gears and has moved on to a new cake baking book. After a vote (we're so democratic, aren't we?), the group has chosen to bake recipes from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. In the introduction of the book, Nancie shares the following:

"I invite you to take a little journey through this collection of Southern cakes. Perhaps you will come across some old friends and meet some new neighbors, since the South, like all the world, grows and changes every day, while still remaining essentially its same old self. I hope that while sampling these pages you will remember something about a cake you once ate or a person who taught you something about cooking and eating and the sacred nature of food."

I couldn't have said it any better.

Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake is the first recipe selected from the book, and it's a perfect recipe to bid summer adieu and welcome fall. Mind you, we have yet to cool down in Southern California, so I'll have to imagine the crisp, cool autumn weather as I enjoy this cake.

Cinnamony and buttery (3 1/2 sticks of buttery goodness --- this is not a typo), this decadent breakfast cake is total comfort food. I didn't have any raisins in the house, so I opted for mini bittersweet chocolate chips. I would recommend not shortchanging on the nuts, as it really provided and nice crunch and flavor to the cake.

Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake
from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

For the Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling
1½ cups light brown sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp cinnamon
1½ cups raisins
1½ cups coarsely chopped pecans
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted

Method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 inch pan.

To make the filling, combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Combine the raisins and pecans in another bowl and toss to mix them. Place the cinnamon mixture, nut mixture and melted butter by the baking pan to use later.

To make the cake batter, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir the vanilla into the milk. In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and evenly mixed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl to ensure a good mix. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and light.

Use a large spoon or spatula to add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the milk and mix in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk mixtures have been incorporated. Stir just enough to keep the batter smooth.

Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter followed by half the melted butter. Scatter half the raisins and nuts over the top. Spread the remaining batter carefully over the filling, using a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with the leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving in squares right from the pan. The cake is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature.

Allspice Crumb Muffins (TWD)

I treasure the early morning hours, especially on the weekends. Most people I know do whatever they can to squeeze in a extra hour or two of zzzzz's. I happily buck that trend, looking forward to the quiet pre-dawn hours on Saturday and Sunday. Once I get a humongous pot of coffee going, I dive into the pile magazines and books that accumulate on my my nightstand and leisurely read the morning paper (which is a rare treat for me).

Dorie Greenspan's Allspice Crumb Muffin was a delicious bonus to my early morning ritual. The prep work for this recipe was mercifully easy (I didn't even need to bring out a knife!), and for that minimal effort, I was rewarded with this yummy breakfast treat. To top it off, the house was filled that wonderful smell of something delicious baking in the oven.

This was the first time that I've made a recipe that calls for allspice to be front and center. I think I've been missing out, I loved the complex cinnamon-clove flavor of this spice. The muffin itself is very moist, and the streusel topping provides nice slightly crunchy texture contrast. The addition of lemon zest is an optional ingredient in the recipe, but I thought it provided essential flavor to complement the spice.

I used large muffin liners for this recipe, and the recipe yielded 8 jumbo muffins.

Thanks Kayte of Grandma's KitchenTable for this week's TWD selection. Please visit Kayte's blog for this recipe, or better yet go get yourself a copy of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours.

Cinnamon Squares (TWD)

I know I've said this about several of the previous Tuesday With Dorie recipes, but I think this is one of my favorites to date! I {heart} cinnamon, so I was super excited to see a recipe where it is showcased front and center. This recipe keeps things simple, with just some espresso and chocolate to complement the cinnamon flavor.

For the layer running through the middle of the cake, I used 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup Guittard cappucino chips which I found at World Market (I love this store!):

Not only is this cake unbelievably yummy, it is super easy to make with no special equipment needed - you just need an 8 inch square pan, couple of bowls, a whisk, and a rubber spatula. (Please visit Tracey's blog for the complete recipe)

All you need to do is combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, then gently combine. The final touch is gently mixing in a healthy amount of melted butter. If you follow these simple steps, you will be rewarded with a wonderful cake with a an impossibly moist and tender crumb.

The smell of this baking in the oven was intoxicating! I had to restrain myself from eating this warm right out of the oven.

This recipe is easy enough that I can actually imagine waking up bleary-eyed in the morning to get this prepped and in the oven. By the time I have a few cups of coffee and read the newspaper, this beautiful cake will be baked and ready to be devoured with...well, a few more cups of coffee! Okay, I'll admit it--- I'm a total caffeine junkie!Thank you Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures for selecting this delicious recipe! If you can't get enough of this cake, make sure to visit the TWD blogroll to see more delicious creations.

Cherry Berry Crumb Cake (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Blueberry Crumb Cake, was the perfect remedy for a lazy Sunday morning at our house this past weekend. It was definitely a "stay in my PJs and fuzzy slippers" kinda day, and this recipe started my morning on the right foot. With a miminal fuss to prepare, in no time you're rewarded with a delicious homemade treat with your morning cup o' joe and a Sunday paper (plus you have the intoxicating smell of something sweet and delicious baking in the oven permeating the house).

This easy to assemble breakfast cake is enhanced with a healthy amount of fruit and topped with walnut-studded crumb topping. It's also a very forgiving recipe, as you can vary the fruit, nut, zest and spices to work with what's available in your pantry.

Previously, I've used blueberries (fresh or frozen works equally well), as well as other fruit (pears, frozen raspberries) with this recipe, and experienced great results each time. This time around, I used Trader Joe's Very Cherry Berry Blend, which is a frozen medley of cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I always have a bag or two of this in my freezer, as it's a delicious mix-in for oatmeal or yogurt, and it makes for a fantastic filling for an impromptu crisp/cobbler.

For the most part, I followed the recipe as written and my notes are below:

- I didn't bother pulling out the food processor to make the crumbs, as it can easily be made by hand (and I didn't want to wash any more dishes -- yes, I'm working hard to keep the lazy morning theme).

- Instead of folding the fruit into the batter, I instead poured the batter into the pan, layered the fruit on top of the batter, then topped it with the crumbs. I think this layering approach helps to prevent all the fruit from sinking to the bottom.

- Perhaps it was due to the juiciness of fruit mix I used this time around, but I had to increase the baking time to 75 minutes (versus 55-65 minutes stated in the recipe). As expected, the cake was delicious! The cake was very moist, and I loved how the tart cherry/berry blend and sweet crunchy crumb topping played together.

Thanks Sihan of Befuddlement for selecting this keeper of a recipe! Make sure to visit the TWD blogroll to see everyone's delicious creations

French Yogurt Cake (TWD)

I was looking forward to making this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, French Yogurt Cake w. Marmalade Glaze. I was soooo tempted to try the olive oil variation (w. citrus and herb flavors --- sounds so delicious), but stayed the course and stuck with the original version first.

With the exception of the glaze, I followed recipe instruction as exactly as written. As I didn't have any marmalade handy, I nixed the marmalade glaze and instead made a lemon syrup (1/4 C lemon juice, 1/4 C sugar - gently warm until the sugar melts) and brushed the top of the loaf as it was cooling.
This cake is really wonderful and delicious on its own! I could tastle a sutble nutty flavor from the ground almonds, along with a terrific tart, tangy flavor from the lemon and yogurt. The lemon syrup also lent a nice tang and kept the cake moist.

Although I don't think you need to adorn this cake with anything else, Dorie Greenspan suggests serving this with some fruit and something creamy like creme fraiche. In my case, I had some lovely mini kiwis that needed some attention. This terrific find comes from Trader Joe's. These minis are the size of a kumquat and unlike it's full-sized cousin, you can pop these in your mouth and enjoy them, skin and all:

I also had some lemon cream leftover from a prior bake-a-thon:

With minimal fuss, this cake (with or without its accompaniaments) is a simple yet special treat. I typically dispatch my baked goods to my colleagues or my husband's work, but in this case I hoarded this cake all for myself ... should I feel guilty for not sharing?...naw!!!

Thanks to Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction for the delicious pick this week! Please visit Liliana's blog for the recipe, and make sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see how my fellow bakers fared.

Pear Muffin Cake

Am I the only one that absolutely hates going out on New Years Eve? Maybe I’m becoming an old fuddy-duddy, but nothing beats curling up with my hubby on the couch in my flannel pjs, watching the Twilight Zone marathon on the SciFi Channel, and muching a huge bowl of popcorn and drinking champagne.

This morning, I woke up without an alarm clock and hang-over free (ahhh, now that’s a great feeling). My hubby and I hung out on our pjs all morning, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the backyard (it was a gorgeous day in SoCal) and watched back-to-back bowl games. This is what I call the perfect way to start the new year!

This pear muffin cake is perfect for this kind of lazy day, as it’s very quick and easy to make and it’s delicious!

Pear Muffin Cake
Adapted from Baking: My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

½ C whole milk
½ C apple cider (or another ½ C milk)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ¾ C AP flour
½ C sugar
¼ C brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp salt
¾ C old-fashioned oats
2 pears, peeled & cut into medium chunks
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

Butter and flour an 8 inch square pan.

Whisk together the liquid ingredients (milk, cider, egg, vanilla, melted butter) in medium bowl.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt to combine thoroughly. Add the oats and mix to combine.

Using a large rubber spatula, pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix only until combined (less is better). Fold in the diced pears, and pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted into the cake center comes out clean.

Let cake cool until warm or room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cut into squares, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins (TWD)

I'm going to keep this post sweet and simple...As you are reading this, my DH and I are well into our vacation.... first we're getting back to nature by spending time in Yosemite and then indulging in a lot of great food and wine in San Francisco and wine country (and the bonus of driving down the gorgeous California coast).

In the meantime, I won't be able to visit and comment on everyone's blogs, so it looks like I'll have alot of catch up to do when I get back home! :)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Pumpkin Muffins, was selected by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp.
This is a pretty easy and straightforward recipe (as muffins should be). I didn't have any sunflower seeds to top the muffins, so instead topped the muffins with a streusel mix ( made with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, pecans). I enjoyed the pumpkin flavor and the light fluffy texture of the muffins. My only complaint ---I didn't think that the raisins did much for this recipe. The next time I make this, out with the raisins and in with chocolate chunks/chips.
I thought this muffin was tasty, satisfying and not overly sweet... a perfect accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee. I'll definitely repeat this recipe as it's super easy to assemble and bake.
If you're interested in making this at home, check out Kelly's site. To see the amazing handiwork of the other TWD bakers, check out the blogroll.