Baking October Away

October 2009 draws to a close in a week. So I was going to round out the month by baking Pumpkin Butter Cheesecake muffins. It's a recipe someone posted a few years ago on TheNest.com... who probably got it from Trader Joe's. I have no idea. Anyway, it uses the TJ's Pumpkin Butter. And I wanted to make this last year, but got side tracked. And the butter went bad.

So, we'll try it again this year. And yes, Sunday Spotlight Crew, you'll get samples this weekend.

Pumpkin Butter-Cheesecake Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cornstarch

Muffins:
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour (sifted first)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup oil (or melted butter if you prefer)
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/4 cups Pumpkin Butter
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour muffin tins or line with paper baking cups.
In medium bowl, with electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and sugar till fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat some more. Stir in cornstarch, mixing till well combined. Refrigerate while you prepare the muffin batter.

In large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon till well combined. Set aside. In medium mixing bowl, whisk oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin butter and flavorings till well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquids all at once, stirring just till barely combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be thick.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cheesecake batter on top.

Place muffins in oven and bake for about 18-22 minutes for dark or coated pans, longer for shiny pans. Check for doneness with toothpick. When it returns with just a few crumbs, take the muffins out and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the muffins should release easily and should be placed on a rack to finish cooling. Yield: 12 standard muffins.

Misc. Musings

Musings for the beginning of October:

Starbucks Via is gross. Don't drink it. I mean, okay, maybe if you are in a bind and you really need a caffeine fix. But at that point, I'd rather have a Mt. Dew. And I hate Mt. Dew.

Sprained feet actually heal faster if you just keep working through it. It was amazing. I tried heels for the first time in 3 weeks and taped the foot. It hurt like hell for the first 15 minutes... but after that... nothing. Felt great! And now I'm tape and Motrin free. Hooray!

Red Velvet Cake is the best stuff ever. I bought a box of it at the grocery store. I think I'm going to make some this weekend.

We've finally reached fall in Sacramento. However, last week, it was pushing 100 degrees. Now, it's barely 75 degrees. My allergies are really working overtime here. Either that, or I'm getting sick. (No!!!!!) No worries though... this weather will be gone in 2 weeks and suddenly it'll be winter.

It's amazing how all the dances I hate are all the dances I do really well in. I can't stand foxtrot. But it's the only one I can recognize patterns really well in. (WTF is a corte w/leg crawl, by the way?) Let's put it this way: I couldn't stand the Hustle last January.

Just because I'm under 5'2" does not mean I enjoy being picked up and lifted/flipped/spun-hugged. Not all of us are aerodynamic. Not all of us enjoy heights.

I'll be celebrating a 2 year wedding anniversary this month.

The first two weeks of November are going to suck.

I'm not as flexible as I thought I was.

I need longer hair. Alice Cullen spikes don't work well with a long, flowy dress in smooth.

Yes, those little tiny insulin needles can leave nasty bruises. I just don't think I've seen a shot injury bleed internally. I guess I need to get back on the pump here soon.

Halloween costumes for women that are modest, but cute and stylish, don't exist. Apparently my ass, boobs (or lack thereof) and back all have to be showing in order for the costume to be age appropriate.