Tuesdays with Dorie: Pumpkin Muffins

This week's recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by......ME!

I wanted to pick something that we haven't yet done (they did muffins in January before I joined the group) and something seasonal (at least seasonal in the mid-western United States, where I live).

My short list of choices included the cardamom crumbcake, salt & pepper shortbread, rice pudding, All in one holiday bundt cake, cocoa almond meringues, sweet potato biscuits and coffee-break muffins. Ultimately, though, I decided to go with the pumpkin muffins. I liked Dorie's description at the beginning. I also thought this recipe would allow for many substitutions or alterations.

Several of the TWD'ers used dried cranberries instead of raisins or different kinds of nuts. Many people added chocolate chips with rave reviews. Joanna spiked hers with bourbon (my kind of girl!). Leslie suggested adding candied ginger (brilliant!). I made mine as Dorie's recipe said, but added chocolate chips after reading the suggestions!

Most everyone seems to like these muffins, even those who admitted to not liking pumpkin previously. I, for one, thought they were fabulous!

Pumpkin Muffins

The best pumpkin muffins in New York are made by Sarabeth Levine, the mistress of Sarabeth's jams and the founder of Sarabeth's restaurants. Her muffins are big and spicy, packed with raisins and topped with sunflower seeds. They're so good they out to be the standard for all pumpkin muffins in the world. Like the originals, these are a beautiful orange-gold color and have a moist and tender cakey crumb, a gentle spiciness and the hallmark sprinkling of sunflower seeds across their crowns. They are good minutes out of the oven, at room temperature or split and toasted. And while they're luscious on their own, they're even better with a little butter and a lot of orange marmalade or apricot jam.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
about 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, for topping.

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray 12 cupcake molds in a regular-size pan or fit with paper cups. Place the pan on a baking sheet.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
• Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add both the sugars and continue to beat until light and smooth.
• One by one, add the eggs, beating for a minute after they are incorporated, then beat in the vanilla.
• Lower the mixer speed and mix in the pumpkin and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients in a steady stream, mixing only until they disappear. To avoid overmixing, you can stop the machine early and stir in any remaining dry ingredients into the batter using a rubber spatula.
• Stir in the raisins and nuts. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle a few sunflower seeds over the top of each muffin.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Kelly's note: A lot of the TWD folks found that 25 minutes was too long, taking theirs out around 17 minutes.
• Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove each one from its mold to finish cooling on the rack.