Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Pumpkin Muffins with Pineapple Yogurt and Cardamom-Pepita Crumble


I was all set and ready to go with the Latin explanation of these muffins: E Plagiaristic Unum which in shorthand translates to light, fluffy, delicious pumpkin muffins filled with a tart, tangy, and yet faintly sweet, yet distinctly breakfasty pineapple yogurtus, upon which is heaped a crumbly facade of pepitus nutus in which the overt sweetness is tempered in the slightest with a splattering of cardamom. Tell me you are not infinitesimally grateful that I didn't go with the longhand version.

I some how arrived at this place in time where I realized it's finally cooling off here a bit, my summer came and went like the mystery illness that plagued me all summer and even stumped my sister (which is a hard thing to do I may add), I also came to deduce I am no furniture mover (disguised as a mild mannered furniture salesperson) after a 100 pound dining table tried to send me to an unserendipitiious end.  The only thing I was left with after my nonexistent suntan started to fade was the harsh reality that my life was in extreme need of simplification and I ended my second job post haste. What else was there to do? Quit making muffins and other sugar filled treats? You people really make me laugh. 

Trolling the interweb I was taken with this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins on Sally's Baking Addition, and while it was so lovely I thought perhaps If I eliminated a step here and pumped up the spice volume there I could reclaim a smidgen of my lost summer, sigh.  Well the dream was nice while it lasted a whole 30 seconds.


Pumpkin, Pineapple Yogurt, Cardamom-Pepita Crumble Muffins
Crumb topping:
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3-cup raw pepitas, toasted (toast pepitas in small skillet on medium heat until slightly brown and let cool)

Muffin batter:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1-teaspoon baking powder
1-teaspoon baking soda
1-teaspoon kosher salt
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1-teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup milk

Filling:
5.3 ounces (1 container) pineapple fruit on the bottom Greek yogurt, stirred

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Make crumb topping. In a small bowl combine light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, butter, and toasted pepitas, stir until combined and set aside.

Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom, ginger (these were spicy but not overwhelmingly in my opinion, if you wanted a little less spicy feel free to leave out or reduce the ginger), brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, vegetable oil, and milk, stir until combined and divide evenly into the prepared muffin tin.

Divide the yogurt evenly and press a large dollop onto and down into the center a bit of each muffin.  



Break up the crumb topping with your fingers and divide it evenly over the batter.


Place the muffins in the middle rack of a preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 350 degrees F and bake for 15-16 minutes longer, until the muffins are set in the center.

Let cool.

At this very moment there are serious pressing issues occupying my thoughts:


Like what to be for Halloween???? People in case you haven't noticed it's in 32 days. Not one decoration is up, not one ghoulish treat is in the works, and I haven't even started on the apology letter I need to have on hand in case I run into my sister's neighbor at the Halloween party this year after last years inflammatory incident (which will be in the book if I ever get that finished). Perhaps I should just bury my head in the muffins and go back and work on some illustrations I've been working on and forget all of this. 

Until we salivate over food together again! (Or until I experience another complete lapse in judgment, which could be sooner than either of us thinks.)

Gina

2 comments:

  1. Light, fluffy and delicious...that's how a great muffin must be. That's a fun Halloween costume.

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  2. Heh, pepitus nutus! And gosh, I hope you bring out the Halloween cheer (and more baked goods!) soon! I need the inspiration and love your ghoulish spirit every year!

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