Muffin Madness

Today there will be a treat waiting for Big Sister when she gets home from 4th grade with a spend-the-night friend. Food sensitivities (soy, egg & peanuts) make it hard to pick up an after school snack on the way home. No drive-thru windows for her. Or at least not very often. These muffins are not quite like the cupcakes she cannot have but are still very yummy.

This recipe has been passed around for years.  I found it again on Southern Plate where the former Weight Watchers recipe (low-fat and high fiber) became less diet but more delicious when the crumb topping was added. It has no eggs or soy.  The topping recipe will make enough for several batches of muffins, so the next time you bake it's super easy.  Big Sister has made these all by herself a couple of times. She only needs help getting the hot pan out of the oven.

Here is my version of this recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 box Duncan Hines spice cake mix

1 15-oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)    

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. (PAM has soy, so you'll have to grease the tin the old fashioned way with shortening or cooking oil.)  Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. I use an electric hand mixer. Spoon into muffin tin. Add topping (see below).

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 stick butter (margarine has soy)

Stir together flour and brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Cut in butter. Spoon or sprinkle on top of muffins, pat down slightly. 

Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  (It takes 30 minutes in my oven.)

*Leftover topping can be refrigerated for several weeks or frozen for several months until needed.

Feel free to try it with other cake mix flavors.  Yellow cake is pretty good.  Haven't tried chocolate yet.  But the spice cake is the favorite in this house.

And it's Friday.  I'm headed home after school, leaving Baby Sister to keep an eye on everyone for the weekend.