Fall Comfort Food: Pumpkin Anything! Especially Pumpkin and Orange Muffins

I hate the fall. No really. I hate it. Aaron on the other hand loves it. Everything about it. The crisp air, the cozy sweaters and the deep sleep that comes with a cold night.

 I would way rather sweat it out in the summer. 

But I guess there are some good things that come with the autumn. Hot chocolate, my birthday, and soup. And one other thing that I've come to love about cooler days is being able to warm my house up with baking. Soon I will be back to baking bread every week and filling my house with cookies and brownies and treats. 

My kids have been asking to buy a pumpkin for a couple of weeks now.  Honestly, though, I'm not ready to give into autumn decor so I said no and then bought some canned pumpkin. There are tons of things you can make with pumpkin. Tons. In fact, I have a cousin who has had pumpkin potlucks. A bunch of people are invited and everyone has to bring a pumpkin dish. You would be shocked at what kinds of foods come to this potluck.  The year I went I brought a Pumpkin Chili, but there were so many other things.

I considered using my single can of pumpkin for Chili but decided one cool day this past week that I better make something good that I can send in Hazels lunch so I dug around for this recipe and was pleasantly surprised. These muffins were moist, light, and had a unique flavor that we have all come to love.

Pumpkin and Orange Muffins

1 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 tsp of Baking Powder

1 tsp of Baking Soda

1/2 tsp of Salt

1/2 tsp of Ground Cinnamon (I had no cinnamon so I threw in 2 tsp of All Spice instead of the cinnamon and the next 2 ingredients)

1/2 tsp of Nutmeg

1/2 tsp of Ginger

Raisins (OMITTED. I don't love raisins enough to add these to much of anything)

1 Egg

1/4 cup of White Sugar

1/3 cup of Cooking Oil

1 cup of Canned Pumpkin (I just threw in the whole can)

1/2 cup of Milk

1 1/2 Tbsp of Grated Orange Peel (my house smelled so good after grated this all up)

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until just moistened. Pour into greased muffin tin (or silicone liners) and bake at 400 degrees for 18 or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Cool and enjoy! Like I said before, these have a different flavor but they are so so good! And pretty too!

Happy October! 

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