Last week when I decided to start a Monday Muffins series, I didn’t expect to start off with back-to-back pumpkin muffin recipes. But over the weekend I read the recipe for Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins in Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. I was instantly sold.
You see, muffins don’t really excite me. Aside from the standard blueberry, banana nut, and (apple)cinnamon(streusel) combination, nothing really seems to change in the muffin world. Nothing stands out in the bite of the muffin world I’ve been exposed to.
This recipe changed my view! I tweaked the amount of spices to fit my tastes, but that was the extent of the liberties I took with the recipe. My first reaction was that the muffins were a bit too sweet, but then I had a taster without a very big sweet tooth tell me the muffins were not sweet at all. We both agreed the heat from the cayenne pepper didn’t kick in until after each bite.
These muffins would be great for breakfast or served as a bread during dinner. I think I would enjoy them as a sweet treat after a meal, or in place of cornbread when I eat a bowl of chili. I’m sure you will find your own unique way to enjoy them too. Have a lovely week!
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup pumpkin
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- optional: 1 tablespoon sesame or 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
- Stir together the pumpkin, sour cream, eggs, and butter (when cooled but still liquid).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients.
- Stir until combined, then fold in 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.
- Fill each well of a paper-lined or greased muffin tin nearly to the top.
- Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup cheese and seeds, if desired, across the tops of the muffins.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
what an interesting flavor combo. i’ve never combined pumpkin with cheese, although i can totally see how it would work. i love the idea of serving these as the ‘bread’ with dinner – they’d be fantastic with chili!
I was uncertain about pumpkin and cheddar too, but then I figured if cheddar works with apple pie, it can certainly work in a pumpkin muffin!