Pumpkin Recipes, With and Without Spice

Click image if you're basic.

I'd have my Basic White Girl card taken away if there weren't at least a dozen pumpkin recipes on the blog. No chance of that happening, as there are eighteen recipes (so far) using pumpkin as a main ingredient. Most of the recipes are sweet, of course, but a couple are savory. Pumpkin is a vegetable, after all. I am rather surprised that I don't have a recipe for pumpkin hummus here somewhere--a situation that will be rectified very soon. I recently found a yummy-sounding one on the Interwebs but haven't had a chance to whip it up. 

I've made more variations on pumpkin cheesecake (3) than anything else. There are also muffins, cake, cupcakes, breakfast items, plus soup and risotto. One thing I noticed while searching for pumpkin recipes: the older posts have some pretty horrible photography! Going from small digital camera to iPhone camera has made a big difference in the quality of my images. Good lighting makes an impact as well. So this post is recipe-heavy and photo-light. 

Curried Pumpkin Soup This recipe is stupid-simple. 

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chai Muffins This is clearly one of my more recent recipes, as I eat mostly gluten-free these days. Plus I'm hoping that the term will attract new followers to the blog....

mini pumpkin cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes Specialty pan alert! You need two 4-inch springform pans for this recipe. I suppose one 6" pan will do, but the cheesecake will need to bake for a bit more time. Don't ask how long. It's in your hands now.

Pumpkin Bread Just to be different, I added a bit of curry powder. 

Pumpkin Butter Don't spend $5 on a jar of pre-made pumpkin butter! Make it yourself for much less.

Pumpkin Cheesecake This is for a full-sized cheesecake to serve to family and friends. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies Rather than the usual cream cheese-swirled brownie, these are topped with a thick layer of pumpkin cheesecake. 

Pumpkin Cornbread There's actually no good reason to add pumpkin to cornbread. But I did it anyway.

Pumpkin Cupcakes Rich and moist, these cupcakes taste better after a day or two.

Pumpkin Fruitcake Don't be afraid--this is more pumpkin bread with dried fruits and nuts than actual fruitcake. Real fruit, not those awful red and green plasticized cherries.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle is a great dish for the upcoming Winter holidays. Make it easy on yourself and use boxed gingerbread and pudding mixes.

Pumpkin Oatmeal sure is cozy on a fall morning!

Pumpkin Pancakes are too!

"pumpkin" pie made with squash

"Pumpkin" Pie There are quotes around the word "pumpkin" because this recipe calls for fresh squash. Pretty much all canned pumpkin is actually butternut squash, and it can be substituted for the other squashes in this recipe. 

Pumpkin Risotto There are no "pumpkin spice" spices in this recipe!

Pumpkin Seed Brittle only uses the seeds, not the flesh. My late Dad said it was "like heaven" in his mouth. 

Pumpkin Spice Cake This is like a blondie, only pumpkin-spicier.

Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Compote Do make the compote! 

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Spicewalla Chai Masala Streusel Muffins

One of the most important things in my kitchen is my collection of herbs and spices. Without them, food would be bland and uninteresting. I have never been brand-loyal--I buy everyday spices that are the most affordable, but once in a while I splash out for a blend that seems too delicious to pass up. I'm always open to trying new things, so I was pretty pleased when Spicewalla offered to send me a selection of their spices to play with. Four were savory blends, but I cracked into the two sweeter items right away. The first thing I did was to make golden milk with their Golden Milk blend (Turmeric, Cinnamon, Ginger, Black pepper, Nutmeg, Roasted Coriander) warm hemp milk, and a dash of maple syrup for sweetness. I like to make a base mixture first, combining a few heaping teaspoons of spices with non-dairy milk to make a very runny paste and keeping that in the fridge. Then when I want a bit of warm golden milk before bedtime, I mix a few spoonsful of the paste into about half a cup of hemp milk and warm it in the microwave, adding a bit of maple for sweetness. (A half cup is plenty, as I don't want to drink too much liquid before going to bed at night.) Spicewalla's blend has all the right elements for a tasty and soothing sweet-savory beverage.

The other spice I used right away was the Chai Masala blend, though not to make chai. (Did you know that since "chai" means tea, saying "chai tea" is like saying "tea tea?") I thought it would be perfect as the spice in some pumpkin muffins. And damn if I wasn't absolutely right! Spicewalla's freshly-ground small-batch blend of ginger, cinnamon, green cardamom, black pepper, clove, and allspice was the perfect seasoning for these ultra-moist muffins. Like pumpkin spice, but with a little bit extra. While plain muffins are nice, muffins topped with streusel are even nicer, texture-wise. I also added chopped walnuts to the batter. Chopped, toasted, pecans or almonds would work as well, or you can omit both the streusel and the nuts. Up to you. 

Did you catch the words "gluten-free" in the title of this post? Since 2019, I've been on a mostly gluten-free diet, which I have found is a big help in losing weight. Sometimes, though, I crave a sweet treat that's not a piece of chocolate (though nothing is wrong with that!), like a cookie, cupcake, or muffin. There are several good gluten-free flour blends on the market, but I am not particularly crazy about the texture of ones that are primarily rice flour; I find it to be gritty. Almond flour makes a tasty wheat flour substitute, but I find that makes things too dense. A combination of GF flour and almond flour is just perfect, and what I used in this recipe. (If you're ok with gluten, you may substitute 1 3/4 all purpose white flour for the GF and almond flours.)

I know, enough talking. Here's the recipe.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Spicewalla Chai Masala Streusel Muffins 

For the muffins:

3 large eggs

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, only if your flour blend doesn't already include xanthan gum)

3/4 cup finely ground almond flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Spicewalla Chai Masala spices

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts, optional

For the streusel:

1/4 cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon Spicewalla Chai Masala spices

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease one 12-well or two 6-well standard-size muffin tins.

Whisk together the eggs and pumpkin purée. Set aside.

Whisk together the gluten-free flour (with additional xanthan gum, if needed), almond flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and Spicewalla Chai Masala spices.

Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the butter until fluffy. Add in the flour mixture and combine until it looks like wet sand. Add the egg/pumpkin mixture a bit at a time, beating well after each addition. The final mixture should be light and fluffy. Stir in the walnuts, if using.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, filling each cup to the top. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

To make the streusel:

Combine all of the ingredients until it forms crumbs. Sprinkle about a tablespoon onto each muffin, pressing it in so it sticks. 

Bake the streusel-topped muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly touched. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing muffins from the pan. 

12 servings

Posted on Minxeats.com.

I received a collection of spices from Spicewalla, including the Chai Masala spices, but I am not being otherwise compensated for this post.

Cranberry-Blood Orange Limoncello Muffins

* The Fabrizia Blood Orange limoncello mentioned in this post has been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.  

Fabrizia Spirits sent me three bottles of limoncello last month. The stuff is so good, I've killed half of each bottle. But I'm not only drinking it - I'm cooking with it. This month, I've done a riff on the classic cranberry-orange muffin. Rather than use fresh cranberries, I've used dried ones plumped up in blood orange limoncello. The booze picks up a nice pink color from the cranberries, which in turn makes the glaze (made with the plumping liquid) pink-ish, too. And tasty.

Want the recipe? Here you go!

Cranberry-Blood Orange Limoncello Muffins

For the muffins:
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup Fabrizia Blood Orange limoncello
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of one large tangerine (Minneola) or the zest of 2 oranges
1 and 3/4 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons reserved Fabrizia Blood Orange limoncello
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Combine dried cranberries and limoncello in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and allow the berries to macerate for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the berries and reserve the liquid.

Preheat oven to 425F.  Line two 6-count or one 12-count muffin pans with cupcake liners.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter on high until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and tangerine zest, beating until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.

Stir together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and beat until just combined. Remove the mixer bowl from the stand and add 2 tablespoons of the reserved limoncello and the milk, stirring by hand with a wooden spoon until the batter is combined. Fold in the cranberries.

Spoon batter into muffin pans. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350F. Bake for 16-18 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Remove muffins from pan onto a cooling rack.

While muffins are cooling, combine the powdered sugar and 3 tablespoon of the reserved limoncello. (There will probably be a few tablepoons left over. Drink it - cook's treat.) Drizzle the glaze over the muffins, and immediately top with a few of the almonds.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Persimmon Muffins

I bought a persimmon at the Asian market several weeks ago. Mid-November. It was hard and hard and hard then had a smallish softish spot and then all of a sudden...squishy. I scraped the pulp out of the skin and almost ate it as is, but decided it would be better utilized in a dessert of some sort. Since it was already a puree and all. But what kind of dessert? I had a box of cream cheese without a plan in the fridge, but didn't want to fuss with a crust. And perhaps the creamy cheese would completely muffle the fruit's sweet flavor. Instead, I opted to make muffins.

I figured a modified apple muffin would work, and Martha Stewart's version with oats seemed ideal. It didn't require buttermilk or yogurt or any other stuff I didn't already have on hand. I swapped out the apple for persimmon, and the 1/2 cup milk for 1/4 cup of light cream (you can use half and half or milk), upped the cinnamon and sugar, and added nutmeg, vanilla, and walnuts. The result is hearty, yet delicately flavored and not too sweet. A perfect breakfast treat, IMHO.

Persimmon Walnut Oat Muffins (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup cream
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 cup quick oats
1 large very ripe persimmon, skin removed and chopped into a fine saucy pulp
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin (or 2 6-cup tins), or line with cupcake liners.

Put the butter in a large glass bowl and pop it in the microwave for a minute or so at high heat to melt. Let cool for a bit before stirring in the sugar and vanilla and beating in the eggs, cream, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the flour and oats, mixing just until blended. Stir in the persimmon pulp and walnuts.

Scoop batter evenly into the prepared tin or tins. Place on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 20 minutes, turning tin 180° halfway through baking.

Remove from tins and allow to cool on a rack. Eat warm with butter or at room temperature.



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Meyer Lemon Muffins

When life gives you lemons...

...make lemon muffins.

I had this great plan to make a simple dessert that a friend taught me some years ago involving oranges and alcohol. I knew there were oranges in the fridge, so I grabbed a couple. I cut into one. It was unusually fragrant for an organic orange, so I tasted a piece only to find it was terribly sour. I tried the other one, and it too was very sour. Then it hit me - they were Meyer lemons. I had received some from a recent CSA delivery, but I thought there had only been two lemons, not four. The two I had in front of me were huge, the size of oranges. Their labels only said "organic" and had a number. I just assumed they were oranges.

You know what you get when you assume, right?

So now I had two precious Meyer lemons that I had to use right away. At first I thought to do a riff on Nigella Lawson's flourless clementine cake, but realized it would need far more than two lemons and more eggs than we had in the fridge. I suppose I could have done math and made a much smaller cake (I do have a set of adorable mini springform pans), but math and I have never gotten along. I didn't want make something that required only the juice or only the rind, because it seemed wasteful, and I had recently made a batch of lemon curd. So I consulted the almighty Internet and found the perfect recipe on the LA Times web site: lemon muffins that used every part of the lemon except the seeds.

I imagine this recipe could be used for oranges or limes or regular lemons. There's a whole cup of sugar in them, which takes care of any sourness issues. The end result is moist and very lemony, and really quite delicious. And they freeze like a dream!

Meyer Lemon Muffins (adapted from the LA Times)

2 Meyer lemons
2 cups flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut about 1/3 off of one of the lemons. Cut that small part into 18 tiny wedges. Chop the remaining lemon into pieces and puree them in a blender.

Combine flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, butter, and pureed lemon. Pour into the well of flour/sugar and stir until just combined.

Grease 18 muffin cups and spoon the batter in.

Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over each muffin. Top with a wedge of reserved lemon.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 18 muffins.



Posted on Minxeats.com.