Pumpkin Apple Spice Streusel Muffins

When I visited my family yesterday, I learned that they had not used all of the pumpkin puree we made on Saturday. There were still about three cups of delicious homemade puree available for me to use. So I checked out some blogs online and found a couple recipes for Pumpkin Apple Muffins. The first (from Real Mom Kitchen) had a delicious-looking streusel topping that I wanted to incorporate, and the second (from My Kitchen Cafe) had a higher ratio of pumpkin to flour and sugar. So I made the batter of the second recipe, and topped it with the streusel of the first and came up with these delicious muffins.

These muffins are fantastic - light and moist and flavorful. Next time I want to substitute in some whole wheat flour - the pumpkin and spices are the perfect mask for the heartier flavor and texture of whole wheat.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Streusel Muffins
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice**
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

Streusel Topping
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs in another bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped apple and spoon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. Combine streusel ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.


**If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, use the following combination: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. Mix together for the equivalent of 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (and it is much cheaper than buying it premade).

I think I used too much butter in my streusel (I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it), so it came out with a strange texture. But the flavor was spot on. So measure your streusel ingredients - you'll be glad ya did!