Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pepitas
As soon as I see that pumpkins have replaced the corn and tomatoes at the market I start hungering for food that’s autumn-like. Mostly pumpkin bread and muffins to snack on when I need a little something in the late afternoon with my last cup of coffee for the day.
I don’t make pumpkin muffins as often as I do banana bread, but almost. This is my latest version, which has kefir because I happened to have some in the fridge. But buttermilk is fine too.
Reheat leftovers in a toaster oven for a few minutes if you need a quick breakfast.
Btw, I used to bake and mash the pumpkin insides to get the puree, but most of the time I use canned pumpkin or squash. NOT pumpkin pie mix. I want to mix in the spices of my choice, not theirs.
Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pumpkin Seeds
3 tablespoons butter
1-3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup mashed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3/4 cup kefir
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
2-3 tablespoons crushed pumpkin seeds
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 9 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, kefir, molasses, egg and cooled, melted butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix only long enough to combine. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin cups. Scatter the pumpkin seeds evenly on top of each muffin. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Makes 9