Pumpkin and Ginger Muffins

'Tis the season of the pumpkin. As a vegetable by itself I'm not a huge fan. But add some ginger and spice and everything nice and voila you are in for a treat! These muffins came about the other day when I was making pumpkin risotto (another delicious pumpkin dish - stay tuned for the recipe) and had some leftover pumpkin. I was thinking to make some pumpkin bread or muffins when I remembered that I still have about a KG of candied ginger to use up. To help me along with some ideas of how these two ingredients might come together I scoured the internet for similar recipes and came across a tasty one that included Molasses and a Molasses Glaze. This recipe originally came from Bon Apetit and was posted by The Amateur Gourmet.

As usual I didn't follow the recipe as written: first I didn't use molasses (I didn't have any light molasses and figured the dark would be too overpowering, so instead I used honey), I added cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, and finally I doubled the amount of candied (or crystallized) ginger.

These muffins were a big hit and are tasty both with or without the glaze. The recipe says it makes 6 jumbo or 18 regular muffins, however after filling my 6 jumbo tins I still had enough mix leftover to make 4 regular muffins.

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
15 ounces pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey (or light molasses)
1/2 cup buttermilk (see substituion tip if you don't have any)
1 cup candied ginger, chopped small

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp honey (or light molasses)
water

Method
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 6-8 giant muffin cups or 18 standard cups with nonstick spray.

Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl beat together the sugar and oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat or stir (beating might be too splashy) in the pumpkin, honey, and buttermilk. Stir in the candied ginger.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just blended.

Divide batter among the prepared muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the the center comes out clean (about 30-40 minutes depending on muffin cup size).

Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

For the glaze whisk together the sugar, honey and 2 Tablespoons of water. Continue to whisk in a little bit of water at a time until a thick glaze forms. Dip the muffins (top only) into the glaze then transfer to the rack; allowing the glaze to drop down the sides. If desired you can sprinkle the tops with additional candied ginger. Let stand until glaze is set, about 1 hour.

Buttermilk Substitution
If you don't have buttermilk, or buttermilk powder try this: mix about 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice, white vinegar, or cider vinegar plus enough milk to make 1/2 cup. Let it stand 5-10 minutes before using.