Savory pumpkin cheddar muffins are unique, surprising, and extremely delicious. They go great with soups and salads.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: The muffins are rich but not sweet, making them a perfect side for meals.
How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 20 minutes to bake, 10 minutes to cool
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowls, muffin tins
Servings: makes 12 muffins
Disclosure: I was sent a free book to review and free brownies to try. However, all opinions expressed in this post are, as always, 100% my own. I was not compensated for this post other than the free book/brownies.
What is the first thing you do when you pick up a new cookbook? Do you read the information on the back? Look at the pictures? Check the table of contents?I’m a flipper. I flip through the pages to see what catches my eye and then I delve in deeper.
One of the first things I noticed about Baked Explorations
by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito was the friendly layout, deep, rich colors and wide variety of recipes.
The recipe I’m featuring from the cookbook is Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins, from the Breakfast section of the cookbook.
About Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins
- The muffins aren’t overly sweet. This recipe is perfect if you’re someone who doesn’t love super sweet breakfasts. Pumpkin cheddar muffins are perfectly balanced: sweet and savory with a touch of cayenne to keep things interesting. They also make a healthy side to serve with soups and salads since they aren’t made with a lot of sugar.
- Pumpkin is a healthy food. Canned pumpkin is 100% pumpkin purée with no sugar added. Pumpkin is good for you with lots of vitamin A, antioxidants, and fiber.
- The muffins are easy to make. You can have the muffins in the oven in just 10 minutes!
Note: The authors suggest topping the muffins with pumpkin seeds (pepitas) which look beautiful and add a great crunch but I used all mine for these recipes and didn’t have any left when I took these photos.
This pumpkin muffin recipe isn’t low-fat, with a whole stick of butter (half cup) plus cheddar cheese, but they are a great treat. I have a good helping of butter on them for the pictures, but they really don’t need it. They are very moist and delicious without it (but a little extra butter is never a bad thing)!
They are excellent with a drizzle of honey, especially hot honey, or a smear of soft cream cheese.
Cool muffins completely on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container. Like most muffins, pumpkin muffins taste best when they are freshly baked, but they’ll keep on the counter for a few days or in the fridge for up to a week. Freeze them for longer storage, up to 3 months.
To refresh leftover muffins, warm them in a 200°F oven.
More Pumpkin Baked Goods
Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups grated sharp cheddar (about 4 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, optional (pepitas)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with a little bit of vegetable spray and use a paper towel to spread the oil evenly along the bottom and up the sides of each cup.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and sour cream. Add the eggs and butter and whisk until combined.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and brown sugar.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and fold until just combined. Fold in three-quarters of the cheese.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and the pumpkin seeds on top of the muffins. Bake muffins for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Let the muffin pan cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out the muffins. Serve them warm.
Notes
- Muffins taste best when eaten fresh, but they can be made ahead of time and reheated in a 200°F oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I am going to do a mini version of these muffins for our Thanksgiving Morning breakfast/brunch! They will be perfect! I ‘liked’ baked on FB; subscribed to email; shared link on FB; tweeted post; posted comment here and will now go to another’s giveaway to register with them! This is F U N!!!
Make sure you leave separate comments for each of the methods you used to enter, or I can’t count them as multiple entries! :) PS: Mini versions sound GREAT, especially with how dense and rich these muffins are. Great idea!
Thanks Rachel! It’s kinda a trick that I use for muffins. Older ladies watching there weight (lol) will eat 2-3 mini muffins where they won’t touch a regular size one; they would rather starve ;) Doing the mini version, they can ‘sample’ heehee!!! Really looking forward to trying them. Prob do a trial run Thursday on my day off!
looks like an awesome book
I went to Brooklyn (from Portland, OR) in August and vistited the Baked Bakery just to meet those fellas. I have been obsessed with their recipes since I saw them on Martha a couple years ago. I don’t have this cookbook yet, and would love to have it! I “liked” your FB page, “liked” Baked ages ago, subscribed to your blog, mentioned you on my FB page, and commented. Please pick me!
Wow, how fun to visit the bakery! Please leave a separate entry for each of the actions you took, otherwise I cannot count them as entries—and it sounds like you need this book! :)
I can not wait to try this recipe! sounds delicious.
Your muffins look delicious.
Those muffins sound perfect. I’m not afraid of a cheddar/pumpkin combo :)
Love new recipes and new cookbooks! I’m with you – lots of pictures will pull me in. Lack of or none at all will turn me off. There have been books on my lists before that I completely turned down due to no pictures!
Omgosh..these look delicious. I can’t wait to make these. Heading to Sprouts today to purchase all the ingredients.
Love your summary of the book. I’ve been on a pumpkin streak so I think these will be made soon!
These muffins sound great, although I’d probably make a few changes to make them a bit healthier. Love the idea of pumpkin and cheddar together. BTW, I’m a flipper too!