Friday, November 4, 2011

Pumpkin Cheddar Mini Muffins

Last Friday, the Good Food Awards Roadshow was welcomed to Austin with a happy hour party. Good Food Award winner Stephanie McClenny of Confituras hosted the happy hour at Springdale Farm, and it was a mini showcase of local foods and beverages. There were samples from some Austin food artisans and a few seasonal, homemade items. Carla from Austin Urban Gardens brought a kale and butternut squash salad made with all local ingredients, and I whipped up these mini, savory muffins. The idea is from Baked Explorations where they’re suggested as regular-size muffins, but I thought minis would work better as happy hour snacks. They were made with local pumpkin from my CSA, clothbound cheddar from Brazos Valley Cheese, and eggs from Smith and Smith Farms. Black pepper and cayenne pepper keep these muffins firmly in the savory category, and I garnished with pumpkin seeds, a little extra finely grated cheese, and a sprinkling of mild chile powder as visual cues of their lack of sweetness.

These are easy to make because everything is whisked and folded together in a bowl, and no mixer is required. Since I had a fresh pumpkin on hand, I roasted and pureed it, but canned pumpkin is suggested in the book. To start, that is once the pumpkin is ready, you whisk together pumpkin puree and sour cream and then add eggs and cooled, melted butter. In a separate bowl, flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt, black pepper, and brown sugar are combined, and a well is formed in the center. The wet ingredients are poured in the well, and the mixture is folded until combined. Grated cheese is folded into the batter, and this it is divided among oil-sprayed muffin cups. If you’d like to garnish the tops, you can sprinkle on more cheese, pumpkin seeds, and chile powder before baking. For the mini muffins, I baked them for 15 minutes.

The pumpkin and cheddar worked wonders together in these little guys, and the cayenne delivered a surprising hit of spice. They were great as little hors d’oeuvres with a glass of wine, and I’d like to try them too, as they were intended, as regular-size muffins for breakfast.



23 comments:

  1. Mmmhhh, I'd love to have those tonight with a glass of wine!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Love mini muffins, they are the perfect size.

    The ingredients in these are perfect together.

    Is it getting cold in Austin? We finally have fall weather in the Bay Area, time to bake some apple cake!

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  3. I love pumpkin in many forms, and I think I have found a new favorite. With the added cheddar and cayenne pepper, how could these be anything but awesome!

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  4. Laura: Yes, it has finally cooled off in Austin! We're having chilly nights for a few days right now, and then we should have some ideal days of open-window-weather. I need to bake an apple cake too. I have lots of local apples right now.

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  5. Oh Lisa, these are a must! I was just thinking that I need to start baking with pumpkin but wasn't sure what to make first. These are calling my name.... I love the savory sweet blend of pumpkin (only fresh chez moi!) and cheddar. Yum! And so pretty!

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  6. I love the idea of adding pumpkin to muffins! I've never done that. Unfortunately we do not have canned pumpkins but I can certainly roast and puree them myself. Looks delicious!

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  7. i do love one-bowl baked goods--muffins are a favorite! i rarely do savory muffins and i can't think of a time when i combined pumpkin with cheese (perhaps that has to do with the fact that i rarely use pumpkin at all), but these are inspired!

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  8. Every time I flip open Baked explorations, I remember that I should bake these and yet it never seems to happen. I"m popping open a can of pumpkin this week and getting to it!

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  9. These look so good! I love that you added cheese to these muffins, such a wonderful addition! I think you'll really enjoy my apple spiced muffins with crunchy topping. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/applespicemuffins

    Thanks!

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  10. Lisa, these muffins looks amazing. They must be savory, moist, and delicious. And I have to tell you that your photo of the muffin batter in the pan, with those sprinklings of cheese is simply mouthwatering.
    -Erin

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  11. What a wonderful combination of ingredients, Lisa. I can just taste the Pumpkin and the Cheddar. Remarkable and goodness, they sure are cuties. A wise decision to bake them mini...

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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  12. These are different than the usual with the addition of Cheddar to cimpliment the pumpkin. Good call!

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  13. Pumpkin and cheddar is a combination I've never tried! I do enjoy savory pumpkin almost as much as sweet. They look and sound delicious!

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  14. These look moorish Lisa! I love savoury muffins for afternoon tea :)

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  15. All the wonderful ingredients in these cut mini muffins.Loved your post.

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  16. I'm sure these muffins were a hit! Loving all the savory pumpkin recipes I've seen lately. I'm not a super big fan of pumpkin desserts (I know, practically sacrilegious to admit this time of year) so this sounds way more up my alley.

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  17. Pumpkin + Cheddar makes some of the best dishes! These muffins would hit the spot for me! There needs to be more of those savory sweet snacks in fall! I love these. I'm sure they tasted as good as they look!!

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  18. Yum! I wouldn't have thought to combine pumpkin and cheddar in a muffin, but the flavors sound like they'd be really wonderful together! :)

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  19. Adore those mini muffins...so cute and the combination of flavours is unbeatable.

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  20. These are just wonderful Lisa! I love the idea of a mini muffin as an appetizer. I'm always on the look out for perfect pick up and eat apps and this is going on the menu of my next party.

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  21. Hi Lisa,
    I got super excited when I saw this post, but I'm wondering about measurements. I'm new to your blog, so maybe I'm missing something, but where can I get the complete recipe? Thanks! Ditto for the pumpkin enchilada recipe.

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  22. Adia: Thanks for visiting! I don't actually re-print recipes from books unless I have publisher's permission or unless I've significantly changed the recipe. I link to the book that was used. When the recipe is from a publication that has included the recipe on their website, then I link to the online version.

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