Well hello, dear readers! Happy Fall! Happy October! I wish I could tell you where September went, but somehow it was such a very busy month that even when I look back, I'm not really sure it was a full 30 days... and yet somehow here we are in mid-October. It's chilly, the days are getting shorter, the fall colours are here - and pumpkin spice is on my mind more often than it should be.
To be honest, my love for pumpkin spice stems from Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes (or PSL's). I think there's a chance that I may not be alone in my love of Pumpkin Spice Lattes. What could it be that tipped me off? Apparently this year has seen a shortage of the pumpkin spice sauce used in the lattes - or so the Wall Street Journal reports. I actually experience the shortage first-hand. There was one day about a week ago that I went into Starbucks to order a PSL and that particular store was out of pumpkin spice that day. It wasn't the end of the world - but that's probably because when I went back the next day I was able to get one...
There's something about the flavour in pumpkin spice lattes, similar to pumpkin pie, that tastes like fall. I decided to take on the pumpkin spice phenomena and make muffins. These muffins have the essential spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice), a hint of apple and of course, pumpkin. The streusel topping is the icing on the cake. This recipe makes 18 to 24 muffins, depending on how big you make them. I doubled the crumble topping amount from the original recipe, but if you don't love crumble you can half it again.
The Recipe:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*Pumpkin Pie Spice: I used 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp nutmeg and 3/4 tsp allspice.
Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line or grease muffin trays.
2. Combine flours, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt in medium sized bowl.
3. In separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugars, vegetable oil, apple sauce and vanilla. Once these ingredients are well mixed together, whisk in eggs. (It's important not to over-beat eggs for muffins which is why I left adding them to the wet ingredients until last).
4. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture; fold until incorporated.
5. For the crumble topping: combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add softened butter, using a fork to mix it in until the the mixture is crumbly, then add oats.
6. Spoon batter into lined muffin cups and sprinkle with crumble topping.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Now I can enjoy pumpkin spice from home! Try paired with coffee, tea, milk, water, juice... you name it.
Happy Eating!
Caroline
