Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Good morning 

Blog O Sphere!

Did everyone had a good weekend?  

I sure did!

Friday night I hung out with my neighbor/landlord/runningbuddy/ridingbuddy/friend over at http://amateuratlarge.blogspot.com/.  Its really convenient when your friend you ride with and train for half marathons with lives next door.  Friday we had a horse swap- I played on her pony while she worked her magic on Bradley.  Stacie is also an AMAZING braider and taught me some of the braiding basics while braiding Bradley for the horse show Saturday.

At this point you may be thinking:

Wait... the title says muffins..
Why am I reading about horses and diving?
I am getting there.. I promise!

We both showed our horses and had a good day at the show .

Stacie had a great day and lots of ribbons on her horse. 

Bradley and I made a good team, and had great rounds.
Bradley was such a gentlemen.
He is such a heart throb <3 

Sunday I missed my long run  tapered for half marathon training and spent the day in Gloucester, MA to go scuba diving with a group of my good friends.  We were supposed to go dive with the seals but choppy seas and foul weather had us diving with the lobsters instead.  Fine by me!  The seas flattened out, the weather was gorgeous, and I had a great day underwater with my scuba gang.  

Monday I decided to catch up with my grocery shopping and food prep for the week.  I made some veggie/black bean burgers (recipe to follow soon), reheated eggplant parm, and made some Pumpkin Muffins.  

Baking is NOT my forte,  but I need the practice, and I wanted to thank a friend for lending me his semi dry suit to stay a little warmer on our dive Sunday.    What says thank you better than Pumpkin Muffins on a chilly September morning?

Last year I found this AMAZING recipe for Pumpkin Struesel Muffins (in a kids cooking book-  so my skill level)  but I have since lost the recipe.  Le Sigh.  Instead I tried out a new one, a second best to my beloved kiddie muffins..  Pumpkin Muffins from Two Peas and their Pod.  you can find the full recipe here

Pumpkin batter, with a layer of cinnamon and brown sugar in the middle, and topped with a cinnamon oatmeal buttery struesel-  I even added walnuts to mine for an extra crunch.  

I love love love cinnamon, and pumpkin everything, especially this time of year.  

I gave away most, and kept some for snacks and breakfasts on the go.

Start baking. 

You won't regret it!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

(Two Peas and Their Pod Blog) 

Yield: 14 muffins

Cook Time: 17-20 minutes

ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Streusel Topping:

1 1/4 cup oats
1 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, water, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and combined.

4. Slowly stir in the flour mixture. Mix until ingredients are combined.

5. For the brown sugar cinnamon filling: in a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.

6. For the streusel topping: in a small bowl mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix in the butter with your hands until the mixture is crumbly.

7. Fill muffin cups half way full with the pumpkin batter. Sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon filling over each half filled muffin cup. Fill the muffins cups with the remaining batter. Top each muffin with streusel topping.

8. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and cool on a wire rack. Remove muffins from tins and enjoy.