Pumpkin Spice Muffin Recipe

I love Fall! The weather finally gets cooler, the leaves start falling, and it’s a season of football, family, and FOOD!

When thinking of Fall food, my mind immediately goes to pumpkin spice! More specifically, I think of the pumpkin spice muffins my mom makes every year. Unfortunately, I live far from home, so I would have to make the muffins myself. And that’s exactly what I did last weekend with my roommates, which turned out way better than I could’ve imagined! Perfect for a snack, a healthy dessert, or a quick breakfast, the muffins only take about 45 minutes to make - perfect to make while watching a movie or hosting a game night.

But what good is baking if you don’t share it? Here is my mom’s recipe for her delicious and healthy pumpkin spice muffins with the signature cream cheese frosting!

Before you start, you'll need a few kitchen appliances and utensils listed below:

· 2 Large Mixing Bowls

· Muffin Tin

· Fine Mesh Strainer

· 12 Muffin Liners

· Whisk

· Can Opener

· Spoon or Ice Cream Scoop

· Knife or Spatula

You'll also need some ingredients*:

Pumpkin Spice Batter

· 1 - 15.25 oz Box of Spice Cake Mix (Betty Crocker is a healthy brand)

· 1 - 15 oz can 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree

· 4 Eggs

· 2 TB Olive Oil (can use any other oil such as vegetable, avocado, etc.)

· 1 tsp Vanilla

· 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Optional

· 1 Cup Chocolate Chips

(Optional) Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

· Jar of Premade Cream Cheese Frosting

OR

Homemade Frosting

o 2 Cups Powdered Sugar (sifted)

o 3 tsp Vanilla

o 1 TB Milk

o 8 oz Cream Cheese

* The measurements make 12 muffins. To make more muffins increase each ingredient by the same proportion. For example, 18 muffins = 1.5x more of each ingredient. 24 muffins = 2x each ingredient.

Now you can start!

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line your muffin tin with paper liners. Lightly spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray for an easy muffin removal later.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all your muffin batter ingredients listed above. Start with the spice cake mix then add the pumpkin puree*, eggs, olive oil, vanilla, and pumpkin spice.

* Use a can opener to open the can of pumpkin puree

3. OPTIONAL: Gently fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

4. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the prepared muffin liners until about 90% of the way full.

5. Bake the pumpkin muffins for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container.

Steps 7-11 are optional:

7. Add the signature cream cheese frosting for a sweet twist either premade from a container or homemade following Steps 8-10.

8. Whisk the measured cream cheese and vanilla together in a mixing bowl

9. Sift the powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer into your mixing bowl. To do this slowly pour the powdered sugar into a fine mesh strainer over a metal bowl lightly shaking the strainer to break up any large clumps of sugar.

10. Finally, add milk and whisk everything together before placing the homemade frosting in the fridge until the muffins are cool enough to top.

11. After the muffins have cooled down, lightly spread a layer of cream cheese on top using a knife or small spatula.

12. ENJOY!

Making pumpkin spice muffins is such a fun and delicious way to welcome in the Fall season! Hopefully your pumpkin spice muffins turn out as delicious and beautiful as mine!

Be Well, Auburn.