Pumpkin Donut Muffins

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping.  The leaves are changing and the wind is picking up.  Pumpkins and apples are dominating the market and blog-land.  Fall is here in full force!

I love to use fresh seasonal products, so I'm really enjoying pumpkins and apples right now.  I made some homemade pumpkin puree and decided to use that in this recipe.  The texture and color is slightly different from canned pumpkin puree.  Mine was a light yellow color and I strained a lot of water out of it before adding it into the recipe.  The muffins cooked up perfectly and have a subtle pumpkin flavor.  The cinnamon sugar coating gives these muffins a slight crunch and they really do taste like donuts!

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Makes 12-16 muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup buttermilk
1-1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and pumpkin puree.  Set aside.

3.  Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. 

5.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture alternating between the two.  Beat until just combined. 

6.  Scoop the batter evenly into greased muffin tins.  (A 1/3 cup measuring cup is perfect for this!)

7.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

8.  Let the muffins cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

9.  While the muffins are cooling, melt the butter in a small bowl.

10.  In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.

11.  Working one a time, dip each muffin into the melted butter.  Then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture until completely coated.  Return muffins to the wire rack and cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Source:  Brown Eyed Baker