“Punkin” Mini-Muffins

Andy Griffith was a North Carolina native and his classic 1953 comedy routine, “What It Was Was Football,” inspired these sweet-spicy treats made with canned pumpkin. Make sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which has added ingredients. Eat them while you watch teams play with the “funny-looking little punkin.” My taste-testers loved the moistness of these gems.

 

MAKES ABOUT 5 DOZEN MINI-MUFFINS

 

3½	cups all-purpose flour
2	teaspoons baking soda
1½	teaspoons salt
2⅛	teaspoons ground cinnamon
½	teaspoon ground ginger
⅛	teaspoon ground cloves
1	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1¼	cups sugar
1	cup vegetable oil
4	large eggs
1	15-ounce can pumpkin puree
⅔	cup water
½	teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat mini-muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. (You may need to bake in batches.)
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. In a medium-size bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla extract. Stir with a whisk to blend well, or use an electric mixer. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined and smooth and no lumps remain.
3. Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin well, so that the wells are about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then remove.

EXTRA POINTS These muffins freeze beautifully. Cool them completely, then seal in zipper-top plastic freezer bags. You can also make loaves, if you prefer. Pour the batter into two 5 ȕ 9-inch loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.