Pumpkin pie muffins

Last night, I baked dessert for only the second time ever. My first attempt was around this time last year, with a dairy-free pumpkin pie. Last night, it was pumpkin again - Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread/Muffin Mix, to be precise. I don't know what it is about pumpkin that makes me willing to tackle the oven to create desserts, but there it is. I guess it's the fact that I LOVE pumpkin pie, and most commercial pies have dairy or soy. Now, the Trader Joe's box had simple enough instructions, but I wanted to up the ante: despite the "pumpkin flakes" in the ingredients, I wanted to add canned pumpkin. Additionally, I had a jar of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter that I wanted to incorporate somehow - maybe a gooey center, if I could figure that out? I went looking online to see if anyone else had doctored with the mix, and lo and behold - of course, someone had. But before I found that link, I ran into this post; having read both, I decided to combine them.

I warn you, the result is seriously intense pumpkin flavor, which is why I've named them Pumpkin *pie* muffins - it's pie flavor in muffin form. If you don't have a pumpkin love affair and want only moderate pumpkin flavor (e.g., a normal pumpkin muffin), go with one of the original recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread/Muffin Mix
• 2 Eggs
• ½ Cup of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter
• 1 Cup of Water
• 1 15oz Can of Trader Joe’s Organic Pumpkin
• 1 tsp Cinnamon & 1 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
• OR 1-2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional)
• Splash of vanilla extract (optional)
  

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the two eggs, pumpkin butter, and water. (Note the original directions call for mixing with a whisk; one sore forearm later, I can't imagine any reason not to use an electric mixer or a blender.) Thoroughly incorporate the pumpkin, then the powdered mix bit by bit. Now you can add spice, if you like - I added Pumpkin Pie spice, and a splash of vanilla extract. Mix it all together, one last time.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins - I used wrappers, but I assume you could just spray the tins and pour them straight in. I got 18 small muffins from my mix, but it could have easily gone to 20 if I had more tins. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the knife or toothpick you insert comes out clean.

Gooey pumpkin heaven....