Pumpkin Orange Raisin Muffins

One of the perks of having friends who have big gardens is to be gifted with the produce they grew but cannot use. Because I was working on Washington Island for most of the summer, our garden is a kind of pitiful mess, and we grew no squashes or pumpkins this year. That's why when our friend Mary offered squashes, I took them. Mr. Century Farmhouse roasted two Hubbard squashes earlier this week and today I made multiple goodies with their creamy insides. First I made two large pans of custard - think pumpkin pie without the crust - and then I made a super-dee-duper batch of Pumpkin Orange Raisin Muffins. There are enough muffins for us to enjoy for breakfast for weeks to come. Thankfully they freeze really well! I'd like to share that muffin recipe with you because they are just that good. If we don't stop nibbling at the muffins on the counter, there won't be many to freeze and I'll have to look for bigger clothes. Ha.

You'll also want to read all the way to the bottom of this post, as I include instructions for roasting pumpkin or squash for baking and also for tasty roasted pumpkin/squash seeds. There are a couple variations listed there too. Have fun!

Pumpkin Orange Raisin Muffins

This batch makes 3 dozen muffins - a lot! - but they freeze well and will keep you stocked with breakfast yummies for quite a while.

Variations and directions for roasting your pumpkin and for enjoying the seeds are at the bottom of this post. Have fun!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oil

½ cup butter, melted

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs, lightly whisked

4 cups pumpkin or squash (see note below)

4 t. whiskey vanilla or plain vanilla

¼ cup orange juice or juice of one orange

1 T. orange zest

5 cups bread flour

1 t. salt

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

4 t. cinnamon

¼ t. cloves

¼ - ½ cup crystalized ginger finely chopped

2 cups raisins

Let’s make the muffins!

Use a big bowl - this batch makes a lot of muffins! Everything pretty much goes into the bowl and gets stirred around in the order listed.

Oven temperature 350 degrees F. Makes about three dozen 2 ½ inch muffins.

1.In a large bowl, combine the oil, melted butter, and sugar and stir until well mixed.

2.Add the eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest. Mix well.

3.In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients - except for the fruit - and stir together until well mixed. Add to the pumpkin mixture and mix that really well. By now the dough will fill the bowl and be rather stiff -ish Is that a word? and sticky.

4.Add the fruit and stir into the dough. If you have used a mixer to this point, take the bowl off the mixer stand and stir the fruit in by hand.

5.Grease a muffin tin or line with muffin papers. Spoon dough into each cup, filling about ¾ full.

6.Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, then place a piece of foil lightly over the top of the muffins and bake for 5 minutes more. Muffins will be lightly browned on the sides and a toothpick or straw used to test doneness will come out clean.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a rack. I don’t let them cool because I cannot wait to eat them, but I have to say this so you don’t burn your tongue eating them right out of the oven!

8.Wash the pan between batches if paper muffin cups are not used. Re-grease and repeat from number 5 above until all the dough has been baked. If there are unfilled cups during the last batch to bake, put about ½ inch water in the empty cups so the muffins bake evenly.

Variations:

Chocolate Chip Ginger Pumpkin Muffins: Replace the raisins with chocolate chips! The dark chocolate chunks are my favorite in this recipe.

Pumpkin bread loaves: Grease or line three bread pans or 6 - 8 washed 16+ ounce tin cans. Fill about ¾ full of dough. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, check for done-ness and bake 5-10 minutes longer. Cover lightly with foil if the breads are browning too quickly. Breads are done when a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pans.

*Note: Prepare your own pureed pumpkin or squash for this recipe:

Carefully cut a pumpkin or large squash (Hubbard, butternut, acorn) in half and scoop out the seeds. Save them for another great snack later (see below). Place halves of the pumpkin or squash cut side down on a metal pan with sides such as a jelly roll pan or on a glass pan. Pour a small amount of water - about a cup or so - onto the pan, just to keep the pumpkin from sticking to the pan as it bakes. Place in 350 degrees F oven and bake for about an hour or until a fork pierced into the skin of the pumpkin goes in smoothly and the interior flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash with a potato masher or puree in a food processor until smooth. If the squash or pumpkin is rather dry and mashes with difficulty, add just a little water, perhaps 1/4 cup at a time to moisten it. You'll know you've added enough water when the squash puree is looser and just smooth. Use in any recipe calling for canned pumpkin.

Want to snack on the seeds? As you remove the seeds, collect them in a bowl. Rinse in a colander under cool running water to remove any stringy flesh from the pumpkin. Dry on a towel. Return the seeds to the bowl and toss with a teaspoon of oil such as grapeseed oil. Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment or directly into a cast iron skillet and place into a hot 425F degree oven. Stir every 5-10 minutes until the seeds are browned and starting to “pop”. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Toss with salt or parmesan cheese if desired, then eat ‘em up!

Let me know how you like them!