It’s pumpkin time!

When I asked my 12 year old grandson what his favorite holiday was he said, amazingly enough, Halloween! Better than Christmas? I asked and he nodded enthusiastically.

What!? What can be better than Christmas? Well, apparently Halloween is. I’m not much for Halloween food – except for the pumpkins! And I do love all kinds of pumpkiny things, especially muffins. I’ve included my favorite naturally sweetened pumpkin muffin recipe at the end of this blog.

Pumpkins are pretty fascinating. They are native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. They were first found growing 7500 years ago. The pumpkin is technically a winter squash with sweet meat and tasty nutritious seeds. The world’s love affair with pumpkins continues. The U.S. pumpkin production in 2017 was 1.5 billion pounds.

Though most pumpkins weigh in at an average of 8 – 12 pounds, there are some real monsters out there. At a giant pumpkin contest in Europe in 2016, a Belgian pumpkin won – at a whopping 2,624 pounds!!!

The best pumpkins for baking are marked as “pie” or “sugar’ pumpkins. They are usually much smaller than those grows for jack-o-lanterns and their meat is much more tender and tasty. The meat can be baked and pureed to use in pies, muffins and cakes. But really? Canned pumpkin saves hours of work and is almost as good for baking.

Here’s the recipe for Pumpkin Muffins – it uses the entire can of pumpkin and makes 20 – 24 muffins. They freeze beautifully! Enjoy

1 1/2 cups raisins and hot water to cover

1 3/4 cup honey OR maple syrup (OR 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar)

one 15 ounce can of pureed pumpkin (1 1/2 cups if you’re making your own)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup light flavored olive oil

2 1/2 cups All Purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

2 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare muffin pans.
2. Pour hot water over raisins to cover. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the sweeteners and stir until the mixture thickens slightly. Blend in the pumpkin and vanilla extract.
3. Pour in the oil and continue to mix until thoroughly blended. Drain the water off the raisins and add the raisins to the batter.
4. In a separate bowl, mix flours spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just blended.
5. Fill the muffin cups to almost full. Bake 20 minutes or until done.
6. Enjoy