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Halloween Fright: A Play in One Act
Scene: 7:08 a.m., the day before Halloween, morning of child's preschool Halloween party.
The kitchen of a middle-class home, USA. Strains of Sesame Street audible. Bowls of icing, muffin tins, and paper baking cups strewn across counter tops. Wife stands on kitchen chair in state of dishabille (costumer's note: jeans, bra, fuzzy socks, haphazard ponytail), camera in hand, photographing cupcakes.
Gorgeous, immaculate husband enters stage right.
Husband: (extended pause) "Uhhh...have you fed the cat?"
Toddler enters stage left, clutching chocolate-filled piping bag. Face is covered in chocolate.
Toddler: "More chocolate, Mommy?"
Curtain closes; applause.
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Enlightened Pumpkin Cupcakes
I strongly advise keeping a can of pumpkin in the pantry at all times: it opens the door to all manner of healthy and delicious baked goods with minimal effort. This particular recipe originates from a Libby's Pumpkin cookbook brochure I procured in my mid-twenties. I think I have made just about every recipe it contains. I have significantly tweaked this from the original; I call them cupcakes here, but you can call them muffins, too, and eat them for breakfast.
I confess I was not paying attention as I stirred together the icing for these cupcakes this morning. But the ingredients are simple: powdered sugar and milk. Given the hour (6:15 a.m.) and my pre-caffeinated state, I didn't bother sifting the powdered sugar; I just kept stirring until all the lumpy-bumpiness was gone, then smoothed over the tops of the cakes. After dressing myself partway, I returned to the kitchen where I melted some chocolate in the microwave and piped in semi-decorative manner over the icing. Happy Halloween!
1 and 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 and 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl whisk the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl whisk the pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, canola oil, and vanilla. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon just until moist. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups lined with paper liners.
Bake 18-20 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely on a wire rack. Makes 16 small cupcakes.
Nutrition per Serving (1 unfrosted cupcake):
Calories 183; Fat 4.9g (poly 0.3g, mono 1.4g, sat 3.1g); Protein 3.2g; Cholesterol 24mg; Carbohydrate 37.5g; Fiber 3.8; Sodium 159mg)
(Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)
8 comments:
Too, funny. I had a similar situation this morning with a piping bag of royal icing. I came back from my thirty second potty break to find my toddler squeezing out the orange icing. When she saw me, she said, "Carrot," and held up the orange filled bag. I have to remember she's getting taller every day :)
Shoot- I wish I'd had this recipe last night at 10:30 when the chocolate cut-out cat cookies I made crumbled into scary pieces. I kept trying to tell myself that the kid's in Rees' class wouldn't know the difference...
Happy Halloween from a fellow frazzled mom. Those are adorable.
Mmm, pumpkin!! Healthy, too, right? Nick is sooo lucky to have a mom like you.
I love the simple icing... I'm always looking for homemade icing recipes. Thanks.
I always have a can of pumpkin in my pantry! These look delicious!
Great cupcakes and funny story. I love your new blog design!
Nice looking cupcakes. I always have pumpkin on hand!
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