Whole Wheat Muffins - The Master Recipe

From Mark Bittman's "The Minimalist" column in the NYTimes, Feb 10, 2010. Made for me for breakfast one morning from Auntie Deb in Minneapolis.

1/4 c (1/2 stick) melted unsalted butter
2 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, or whole wheat flour (or a mix with some unbleached white flour)
3/4 c white or brown sugar (to taste) + more for sprinkling on top of muffins
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c mashed or pureed banana, sweet potato, apple, zucchini, pumpkin, or other fruits or vegetables
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c buttermilk or yogurt
optional add-ins: 3/4 c chocolate chips, 1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans, 2 T toasted wheat germ, 1 t cinnamon or other spice (Mark Bittman recommends banana-walnut, pumpkin-coconut, sweet potato-cardamom-ginger)

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin tins for 12 big muffins. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (and spices or other dry ingredients, if using). In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, banana (or other fruit/veggie), egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined (add in any of the optional ingredients now).

2. Fill muffin tins or liners; sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top. Serve warm if possible.

Yield: 12 muffins

Pumpkin Butter

1 medium-large pumpkin
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or fresh!)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Wash the pumpkin with water; don’t use soap. Cut the pumpkin in half, leaving the rind on, and scrape out the stringy pulp and seeds with the spoon. Save the seeds to roast!

2. Place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, in 2 large baking dishes. Add about 2 inches of water to each dish to keep the pumpkin from drying out. Cover the pumpkin with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until it is very tender when poked with a fork.

3. Let the pumpkin cool and then scoop the pulp out of the rind with a spoon. Puree the pumpkin pulp in the blender or food processor to make it smooth or just mash it with a fork.

4. Combine pumpkin puree and the rest of the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed stainless-steel or other nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; lower the heat and simmer the mixture, stirring it very often with a wooden spatula, until it has become very thick, 15-20 minutes. Sample the butter and add a little more of any or all of the spices, if you like (remember, the flavors will blossom in storage). Add more sweetening if your tastebuds request it.

5. Remove from heat and ladle into jars with lids (I used tupperware). Store in refrigerator 2-3 weeks. Serve with warm, fresh bread or scones.

Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies

These come from my friend Dara - the recipe won a brownie bake-off a few months ago!

PUMPKIN BATTER:
1 T unsalted butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 c canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1 t vanilla extract
½ t ground cinnamon
½ t ground ginger
1 T flour

CHOCOLATE BATTER:
5½ oz good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 eggs, at room temperature
1½ c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
¼ t salt
1 1/3 c flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch baking dish.

2. Prepare pumpkin batter: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter with cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar, scraping bowl occasionally. Bet in egg, then add pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. Stir in flour.

3. Prepare chocolate batter: Combine semisweet chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Set bowl over saucepan with 1-inch of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine eggs with sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat at low speed until light and fluffy- about 4 minutes. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in melted chocolate. Sift flour over the batter and fold it in just until combined.

4. Spread chocolate batter evenly in prepared pan. Using a Tablespoon, drop dollops of the pumpkin batter all over the top. Using the back of a butter knife, swirl the pumpkin batter slightly into the chocolate.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes (starting checking on brownies at 30 minutes to see if they're done- a toothpick inserted into center should come out clean).

6. Let brownies cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 24 brownies

Roasted Pumpkin & Winter Squash Soup

Make a big pot of soup and freeze individual portions to eat throughout the winter! You can really use any type of winter squash - butternut is wonderful.

1 large or two small pumpkins or winter squash
1 T olive oil
3 c sliced onion (about 2)
2 t minced garlic
4 c water or veggie broth
3/4 t salt
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground allspice
2 T maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400. Cut pumpkin or squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place cut-side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 45min - 1hr or until tender. Remove from oven and cool.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onion; saute for 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Scoop out flesh of pumpkin/squash an place in pot with onion mixture. Add water or stock and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth but not too smooth - I like mine a little chunky. Serve warm with a big slice of homemade bread.

Yield: 6-8 servings