pat's Recipe

Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Category: Muffins

vegetable oil for lining the muffin cups
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil 6 muffin cups. In a small pan over medium heat, heat the butter until it begins to brown. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth and airy, about 1 minute. The mixture may lighten in color. Whisk in the pumpkin and browned butter.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Fold in the pecans, but be careful not to overwork the batter. If there are lumps, they will disappear during the baking. The less you work the batter, the more tender the muffins will be.
Fill the muffin cups with batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the center of the oven. To prevent the muffins from getting soggy after baking, remove the cooked muffins from their cups and cool on a rack. Serve warm.

makes 6 large muffins