By Pumpkin carving night. I spread newspapers on the kitchen table, handed each kid a spoon and a marker, and let them have at it. This is the one night a year I surrender control of the kitchen table and accept that it will be covered in pumpkin guts and seeds and the particular joy-chaos of four kids with sharp objects. Dave supervised the knives. I supervised the seeds.
Amber carved a cat, precise and careful, because Amber does everything precisely and carefully. Tyler carved a face that looked more surprised than scary, with lopsided eyes and a mouth that seemed to be saying oh no. Justin stabbed his pumpkin with enough enthusiasm that I had to take the knife away twice and remind him that pumpkin carving is an art, not a crime scene. Josie drew a smiley face with a marker and declared it done, which is the most Josie approach to any task: efficient, cheerful, and completely unconcerned with convention.
I roasted the pumpkin seeds while they carved. Scoop them out, rinse off the strings, toss with olive oil and salt, spread on a baking sheet, bake at 375 for twenty-five minutes until golden and crunchy. Every family does this. Not every family does it well. The secret is not crowding the pan and using enough salt. Josie ate raw seeds when I was not looking, exactly as I predicted, and made a face, exactly as I predicted. I handed her a roasted one and she said this is better, which is the first time in history a seven-year-old has conceded that a parent was right about something.
We put the pumpkins on the front porch and lit the candles inside and stood in the yard in the dark, and the pumpkins glowed orange against the night, and the kids were proud, and Dave put his arm around me, and October was doing what October does best: making the ordinary feel sacred. Four pumpkins on a porch in Grand Island, Nebraska. Nothing special. Everything special.
I made pumpkin soup from the scraps, because waste is a sin. Roasted pumpkin flesh, chicken broth, onion, a little cream, nutmeg. Pureed until smooth. The kids would not touch it because they saw where it came from. Dave and I ate it for lunch the next day and it was silky and warm and tasted like the inside of October.
After a night like that—newspapers on the table, pumpkin guts everywhere, four kids glowing with pride on the front lawn—I wanted the morning after to feel just as special. The pumpkin soup was mine and Dave’s quiet reward; these muffins were for the kids, warm from the oven before school, smelling like everything October is supposed to smell like. Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins are my answer to the morning-after letdown that follows any big family night: soft, spiced, a little sweet, and proof that the season isn’t over yet.
Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 22 minutes | Total Time: 37 minutes | Servings: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Heat your oven to 375°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well with nonstick spray.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice until evenly combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
- Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined—a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
- Fold in the apple. Gently fold in the diced apple until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Fill the muffin cups. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
- Bake. Bake at 375°F for 20–22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly when pressed.
- Cool. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 182 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 185mg