By The real estate market is strong this week. I showed 4 properties and closed on 1. The pipeline is strong. The phone rings with the steady rhythm of a business that has taken six years to build and refuses to slow down.
I drove to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner. The drive takes forty minutes if the traffic behaves. It never behaves. But I make the drive because the table at Mama's house is non-negotiable, and Sunday dinner is the thread that holds this family together.
I thought about Baba this week. Not the grief — the grief is always there, a familiar companion now — but the man. The way he stood at the bakery counter with his arms crossed. The way he hummed Greek songs he never knew the words to. The way he loved us in silence, which was the loudest love I have ever known.
I made kolokithopita — savory Greek pumpkin pie with feta and dill in phyllo. What pumpkin should be when it grows up. I served it with bread and olive oil — always too much olive oil, because in this family there is no such thing as too much. We ate and the conversation was easy and the evening was warm.
Sophia told me this week that she is proud of me. I was not expecting it. We were in the car, driving to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner, and she said Mom, I am proud of you. I said for what. She said for everything. For the bakery. For the houses. For making dinner every night even when you are tired. I gripped the steering wheel and blinked and said thank you, koritsi mou. She said do not cry. I did not cry. Much.
I made the kolokithopita for Sunday, but when Monday came and the house was quiet and Sophia’s words were still echoing in my chest, I wanted pumpkin again — this time in something I could wrap in a napkin and eat standing at the kitchen counter before the phone started ringing. These spiced pumpkin streusel muffins are what pumpkin does when it doesn’t have to be fancy, just good: warm and tender and a little sweet, with that crumble on top that feels like something a grandmother would add. Baba would have taken three. I made a dozen and was not sorry about it.
Spiced Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 22 minutes | Total Time: 37 minutes | Servings: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- Streusel Topping:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Muffin Batter:
- 1 3/4 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 ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well with nonstick spray.
- Make the streusel. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the topping. Add the cold butter pieces and use your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs. Set aside in the refrigerator while you make the batter.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until evenly combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
- Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix — a few small lumps are fine and will keep the muffins tender.
- Fill the cups. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the cold streusel topping generously over each muffin.
- Bake. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean and the streusel is golden. Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even color.
- Cool. Let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 195mg