Leftover Pumpkin? Pumpkin Chai Muffins!

Several months ago, I pinned a fabulous looking recipe for Chai Spice Glazed Doughnut Muffins on my breakfast board.  I love chai and the hubs love doughnuts, so I figured this muffin would be a hit.  From there, I promptly forgot about the recipe.  But when looking for a way to use the remaining 1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin in my refrigerator one Saturday morning, this recipe jumped out at me.  Pumpkin is so wonderful with spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, so why not add cardamom, ginger and pepper to the mix, too?  

The result was a very happy one.  A lovely, spicy muffin with a very unique flavor profile that is fabulous with coffee.  I stuck very, very close to the original recipe but substituted pumpkin in lieu of oil.  I also used half whole wheat flour which gives you a denser muffin than one with entirely white flour.  So pretty much, the doughnut aspect was lost.  But some nutrition was gained, so I am ok with that.  And in the end, so was the hubs.  

I think my favorite part of her recipe is the spice glaze....yummmmmm.  I want to make this and drizzle it on everything now.  So I present this not as an original recipe, but a recommendation to the My Baking Addiction blog along with an idea for using left over pumpkin.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chai Muffins

• 1/4 c unsalted butter
• 1/2 c pumpkin
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• scant 1/4 tsp each nutmeg & clove
• 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1 c flour
• 3/4 c fat free milk

Spice Glaze

• 1 tbs melted butter (we used smart balance light)
• 1 c sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tbs fat free milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a muffin tin.  Using a stand or hand-held mixer, cream together the butter, pumpkin, and sugars.  Beat in eggs individually, then mix in the vanilla.  

In a medium bowl, combine the baking powder, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, clove, pepper, salt and flours.  Stir together well.  

Alternatively add the dry ingredients and milk into the pumpkin mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix until just combined.  Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins (you'll have a not quite full scoop).  Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.  Let cool in the tins for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

While muffins are cooling, make your glaze.  Combine all ingredients in a small, round bottomed bowl and whisk until smooth.  To glaze, hold the bottom of each muffin and dip the top directly into the glaze bowl, swirl to coat the entire top, then remove.  Allow the excess to drip off for about 5 seconds before setting the muffin top up again on the cooling rack (be sure it is over an easy cleaning surface, like a counter top, as excess will drip).