Pumpkin Crumble Muffins

A delicious idea for all those pumpkins you grew last season.

A lot went right in our garden last summer, and a few things did not. We learned that broccoli produces a lot more broccoli plant than broccoli flowers (the part you eat), so we probably won’t be doing that again. We learned that brussels sprouts don’t do well in our climate, although cabbage does. The problem is, we don’t really like cabbage.

These were all vegetables we experimented with in our outdoor garden which is finally fenced, as of last spring, and safe from deer. It was our first successful crop since beginning to experiment in 2020. When I say success, I mean we harvested over 200lbs of Yukon Gold and German Butterball potatoes, about 20 ears of corn, 27 spaghetti squash, and 30 French and Sugar pumpkins from the garden.

That doesn’t include our greenhouse harvest of tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplants, spinach, lettuces - all our “hothouse” vegetables.

As you can see below, John fenced an area way larger than what we actually plant right now. But that’s John - he overbuilds. I’ve come to appreciate that about him, though - always thinking ahead.

Currently, it’s mid-February and we’re still enjoying our potatoes, pumpkins and squashes. These crops can be stored long-term in the root-cellar as long as you harden them off before storage (which basically means leave them unwashed out in the sun for a day or two after harvesting and keep them dry). They’ll keep for months.

You want to store them off the floor and away from any walls that could leach moisture. Provide some air circulation with spacing and, perhaps, wire shelving. Store the potatoes in a burlap sack or other bag that allows for air flow. Check them regularly to make sure none have gone soft. A soft potato can ruin the whole bunch.

If any of our squashes start to go soft, we just use them right away or cut them open and give them to the chickens.

Pumpkins can also replace sweet potatoes in any recipe. They taste very similar and have nearly identical texture and color. To use a pumpkin, just cut it in half or quarters and place it, cut side down, in a pan with about an inch of water. Cover the pan with foil and steam it in the oven for about an hour at 375F degrees. You don’t have to be too precise with a pumpkin. When it’s soft, it’s ready.

Scrape out the seeds and most of the stringiness with a fork. You can roast the pumpkin seeds later, if you like. Once roasted, you can use the pumpkin in chunks or blend it to make all those recipes that call for “canned pumpkin” - only better!

Just cut the pumpkin off the rind, put the flesh in a bowl and either mash it with a fork or blend mechanically. I love my emersion blender for this!

This recipe for Pumpkin Crumble Muffins uses 3/4 cup of pumpkin, which isn’t much, so you may choose to reserve some flesh in chunks to roast and toss with some gnocchi and sausage in a herb cream sauce… just a thought.

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

• 1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 large egg

• 3/4 cup pumpkin

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

• 1/4 cup sour cream

Topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 white sugar

• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 tsp cold butter

• 1/4 sea salt

• 1/2 cup crumbled nuts (pecans and/or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350F and whisk the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together (make sure your oil has cooled so it doesn’t cook your egg!).

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Fill 12 muffin cups 3/4 full.

For the topping, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cube the cool butter and mix it in quickly with your fingers to form a crumble. Add some crushed nuts to the crumble and then sprinkle it over the top of the muffins.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

These muffins have become a staple in our house. I probably make them at least every other week, which means I usually have a container of blended pumpkin in the fridge ready to use for other things like ravioli filling, or pumpkin pie.

Let me know if you make these muffins or have other favorite ideas for pumpkins. Besides carving!