One small bite was all it took to convince me that the orange thing called a pumpkin was something special. (Coincidentally, that was also the day I discovered that I love cinnamon, BIG time.) Ever since that first sliver of pumpkin pie, I’ve become a borderline fanatical huge fan of anything with pumpkin. We’re quickly approaching that time of the year when no one will judge you for adding 4 cans of pumpkin puree to your shopping cart. Let’s get ready for that. We always aim to be ahead of the game here. Friends, I can probably sit here all day and pick off the crumb topping on these muffins. It has a phenomenal crunch because I used turbinado sugar in the crumb. Even if you’re not ready for pumpkin muffins yet, at the very least, sprinkle turbinado on your next batch of muffins. It’ll be a game changer. To make these muffins extra special, I folded in some chopped up bittersweet chocolate. I love using Ghirardelli’s chocolate baking bars for my baked goods because of their consistent taste and quality. (Examples of my love for their baking products: Green Tea Cupcakes or Double Chocolate Almond Cookies.) Plus, Ghirardelli is based in San Francisco, which as you all know, is near and dear to my heart.
PUMPKIN MUFFIN COOKING NOTES
For this recipe, it’s a good idea to mix the dry and wet ingredients in two separate bowls before combining them together. The first time I made these, I was lazy and tried to do everything in one bowl. The batter ended up being a bit clumpy and way too thick.With the first test batch, I used 1 cup of pumpkin puree instead of 3/4 of a cup. The muffins had a deeper orange hue. If you want the muffins to look more orange, use 1 cup of pumpkin puree.I also tried a batch with some almond flour in it, and the muffins were more dense. I prefer the fluffier version that I have in the recipe below.
