Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Alright folks, it's been a long time. This recipe will make the whole house smell good, and tastes great too. It has the added bonus of using the left over pumpkin from awesome-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies and 2 oldish apples (from when Jason decided he didn't really like green apples after all). I hate to throw away food and the cool air this morning inspired me.

Ingredients:
Muffins
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (leftover from awesome pumpkin chocolate chip cookies)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 peeled, thinly sliced apples (leftover int he fridge that your husband decides he doesn't like after all)

Amazing Topping of Goodness
1/4 cup raw sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon of cold, unsalted butter

Directions
Mix the first 8 ingredients (for those of you missing fingers, flour through salt) in a large bowl. Eggs, pumpkin and veggie oil get mixed in another, smaller bowl. Gradually add the pumpkin mix to the dry mix. I'm not a big fan of getting 16 different things dirty to cook 1 thing, but the "two bowl" and "gradually add" part are necessary to avoid a massive mess and to create a yummy muffin.

Once that is done, I sliced the peeled apples right into the mix. Fold them in with a spoon. Folding in means you mix it gently so you have apple pieces, not apple sauce, in the mix. Spoon this bad boy into paper-lined muffin cups. Using the paper-liners means easy clean up, no slippery cooking spray, and minimal crumbs. Don't put these in the oven just yet, you need the Amazing Topping of Goodness (AToG).

To make the AToG mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. I like raw sugar (it looks like brown sugar) because it keeps some crunchiness even after baking. Regular sugar will work just as well, without as much desirable crunchiness. Use a pastry cutter (also known as the back of a fork) to crush the butter into the mix. It will be a crumbly mix when you're done. Don't touch it yet! The warmth of your hands (that's right, you're hot!) will melt the butter and mess the whole thing up. Once you have crumbly consistency, you have my permission to use your hands to sprinkle it over the raw muffin tops.



Bake the muffins (topped with AToG) in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Enjoy!