Happy Halloween: Pumpkin Muffins

I've created a monster. I started bringing in sweets to work a few weeks ago, and now I am always getting questions about what I'm baking next. Luckily, I have a devoted audience to give my baking to so I don't eat it all. And they always like everything I bring in, so it's a great morale booster for this blog.

So for Halloween Friday, what better than pumpkin muffins. These turned out just about perfect for a pumpkin muffin in my opinion, light and fluffy with a little spice and a lot of pumpkin flavor. The only problem was that the tops got just a little sticky overnight. That could probably be remedied by using white sugar instead of brown sugar, which has more moisture. These are lighter, fluffier muffins than what I usually bake, but that's probably because they're not quite as healthy. If I make these again on a non-holiday, I will probably substitute half of the flour for whole wheat flour and at least half of the oil for applesauce and maybe reduce the sugar too. But it's Halloween, and pumpkin muffins are at least a little better than a bowl of mini candy bars.

Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 12

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper cups or grease.
-Combine first 9 ingredients (all the dry ingredients, which go from flour through ginger) in a large bowl.
-In another bowl, beat the eggs, then mix in the oil, milk and pumpkin.
-Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined.
-Pour into the muffins tins. Top with pumpkin seeds if you like. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops are slightly browned.