EMMY'S PUMPKIN-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Don't dismiss this as an improbable combination; the mellow, distinctive taste of pumpkin is a delightful counterpoint to the chocolate chips. But if you're still anxious about the medley, substitute cinnamon chips, which will give you a much more traditional taste. For a more complex taste, add 1/4 cup Toffee Flavored Bits to the muffins along with the chocolate chips; your family will be back for seconds, guaranteed! 

MUFFINS 

1 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 

1 1/3 cups Baker's Special sugar or granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/2 cup chocolate chips or cinnamon chips 

1/4 cup Toffee Flavored Bits (optional) 

1/2 cup diced walnuts or pecans 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/3 cup melted butter or melted vegetable shortening; OR 1/3 cup vegetable oil 

2 large eggs 

1 cup (half of a 15-ounce can) solid-pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) 

1/3 cup water 

GLAZE 

1 cup glazing or confectioners' sugar 

2 tablespoons melted butter 

1 tablespoon milk 

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in the chips and bits of your choice. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted fat, eggs, pumpkin and water. Make a well in the dry ingredients, fill it with the liquid ingredients, and mix vigorously until everything is well-blended, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go. Spoon the batter into the lightly greased or paper-lined cups of a 12-cup muffin pan. The muffin cups should be filled quite full, using a generously rounded 1/4-cup of batter for each muffin. Bake the muffins in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven; let them cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them from the pan to a rack to cool completely. Store them in a plastic bag or other airtight container. Just before serving, stir together the glaze ingredients, and drizzle over the muffins. Yield: 12 muffins. Shannon's note: Yield is very conservative. I get about 18 muffins. When I forego the glaze, I usually add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the muffin batter.

Quadruple Recipe

MUFFINS

6 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

5 1/3 cups Baker's Special sugar or granulated sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 cups chocolate chips or cinnamon chips

1 cup Toffee Flavored Bits (optional)

2 cups diced walnuts or pecans

4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cups melted butter or melted vegetable shortening; OR 1 1/3 cup vegetable oil

8 large eggs

1 29 oz can) solid-pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/3 cups water

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in the chips and bits of your choice. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted fat, eggs, pumpkin and water. Make a well in the dry ingredients, fill it with the liquid ingredients, and mix vigorously until everything is well-blended, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go.

Spoon the batter into the lightly greased or paper-lined cups of a 12-cup muffin pan. The muffin cups should be filled quite full, using a generously rounded 1/4-cup of batter for each muffin. Bake the muffins in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven; let them cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them from the pan to a rack to cool completely. Store them in a plastic bag or other airtight container. Just before serving, stir together the glaze ingredients, and drizzle over the muffins. Yield: 12 muffins.

Shannon's note: Yield is very conservative. I get about 18 muffins. When I forego the glaze, I usually add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the muffin batter.