First, on the topic of baking, my friend Alisa – you know, the one who taught me how to make a fondant cake – and I are having a major problem at the moment. The problem is that she saw my video about Jell-O Worms, and decided to try making them herself, and instead of ending up with a single sad, limp (and blue) half-maggot, she ended up with this:
So now I am a) not going to be her friend anymore because I cannot take the shame, and b) going to have to try making the damn things again just to prove a point. And when I make them again it’s not going to even make sense because it’s not Halloween anymore, and Jell-O Worms are gross enough when you’re expecting gross food; served alongside, like, Thanksgiving dinner they might mean I end up actually frightening people.
(She said she “saved one in the straw” so I can “have the satisfaction of squeezing it out.” #rage.)
I suppose it’s nice having excellent bakers for friends, though, sometimes because they shame you into turning in a non-terrible performance in the baking department (see: my solo fondant cake), and other times because they give you recipes that are so good that even you can achieve stunning success.
Which brings me to the actual point of this post: omgggg are my friend Mollie’s pumpkin muffins ever delicious. I don’t even especially like pumpkin, and I could not stop eating these (forget about Kendrick; I had to toss half the batch in the freezer just to keep him from turning into a pumpkin muffin himself).
Mollie’s Best Pumpkin Muffins Ever
What You Need:
- 3 1/2 c unsifted flour
- 2 1/2 c sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 c vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
What You Do:
- Mix dry ingredients; stir in oil and pumpkin.
- Add eggs one at a time, and beat well.
- Grease the muffin tins, and fill each to 3/4 full. Top with a sprinkling of walnuts.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Make sure to start checking them at 25 minutes so you don’t overcook them.)
