Pumpkin Nut Muffins

It's October in Havre, Montana. The wind has blown most of the leaves from the trees. The air is crisp. The geese fly overhead.

I guess I should make something with pumpkin. (You thought I was about to get all poetic and stuff, didn't you?)

These pumpkin muffins are the best! I make them every year, and have even made them for Thanksgiving dinner to serve instead of bread or rolls.

Here's what you'll need:
Oh, I want to tell you about these measuring spoons first. They were my Mom's. I bet they're 50 years old. I like using them when I bake.

Put the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a sifter.

Oh, I want to tell you about my nutmeg first. About 20 years ago I found a little jar full of whole nutmegs and a tiny little grater. It was the cutest thing.

I bought it.

The grater is probably 2 inches long. I use this whenever a recipe calls for nutmeg. Freshly grated nutmeg smells so good!

(Oh, just so you know... I've long since used the nutmegs from the original jar and have replaced them with fresh nutmegs! I can hear some of you saying "Ewww, she's using 20 year old nutmegs???" "I'm not going to eat any of those muffins!")

Sift the dry ingredients.

Oh, I want to tell you about the raisins for this recipe first. I put them in a little bowl and add some sherry. Then I microwave them for one minute. It plumps up the raisins and adds a bit of flavor. So, do this before you start mixing everything up.

Put the eggs, milk, melted butter, Karo syrup, vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin into a bowl.

Whisk it until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients all at once.

Then, with a spatula, mix the dry ingredients into the wet... just until moistened.

The best spatulas in the world are from Pampered Chef. They're one piece, so the spatula never comes off the handle when you're using it, and it'll take a beating up to 80,534 degrees. (Actually, I think it's 600 degrees, but that's really hot, too). You can buy these spatulas by clicking right here.

Now, mix in the raisins and walnuts. Put them in muffin tins that you've sprayed with that cooking oil spray stuff. This recipe makes between 11 and 15 muffins, depending on how big your muffin tins are.

Fresh out of the oven!

Here you go... don't they look great?! You can find the recipe for these delicious things by clicking right here.