Thursday, December 3, 2009

Muffins and rumors of muffins

There have been whispers and rumors floating around town about wonderful pumpkin muffins made only with two ingredients: pumpkin pie filling and spice cake mix. I've never had these muffins or seen the actual recipe, but being the risk-taker that I am (OK, go ahead and laugh, I know you want to) I decided to try and make these muffins with no recipe in sight.

The only problem.. my store was totally out of spice cake mix and the only pumpkin pie filling available was in the big can instead of the regular size. I hear there is some sort of pumpkin shortage. Do you have regular size cans at your store? Anyhoo, in the spirit of the brave kitchen pioneers who have gone before me, I decided to try and double it (because of the double amount of pumpkin) and substitute gingerbread mix for the spice cake mix.


I have to admit I was a little worried while I was stirring the two ingredients together. I kept thinking that surely I needed to add eggs or milk or something! It was a pretty thick mixture and I poured it into 2 muffins pans (to make 24 muffins).

I decided 350 degrees sounded like a god temperature and baked them for about 25 minutes. They were sure smelling good in the oven!

They turned out darker than regular pumpkin muffins (because of the gingerbread mix) but they actually looked edible when I pulled them out. I let the kids be the first guinea pigs and try them out. Nobody passed out or gagged so I figured they couldn't be too bad. :) I thought they turned out pretty good, but not as good as the muffins I make from this recipe. I think it was the heavy clove and ginger taste from the combination that was a little too much for me. I'm not a big clove fan; I don't even like Chai tea.

Overall I think I will try them again, but next time I'm hoping I'll be able to find the spice cake mix.

Have you ever made something similar? How did they turn out?

16 comments:

justjoycee said...

looks delicious....

Jen said...

Those look GOOD! I have made a similar version but with chocolate cake mix with mini chocolate chips added in...YUM!!! My recipe calls for a bit of water though...http://nannamanna-moxie.blogspot.com/2008/07/no-eggsno-oilno-problem.html

One Pretty Little Box said...

Yes I have tried the original recipe, but it was regular pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix (which may be why the spices were so strong). :) A pretty tasty treat.

Dorothy Aichele Conway said...

I have the recipe in 1001 Fast Easy Recipes. 1 pkg spice cake mix, 15 oz. can pumpkin, 3 eggs, 1/3 cup oil, 1/3 cup water. Beat for 2 min. Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 min. Makes 24 cupcakes. I was planning on making them yesterday, so I bought the cake mix and found out that the stores are out of pumpkin. I have to wait on this recipe.

Your favorite sister said...

I have made the spice cake muffins and like a previous commentor have also made chocolate ones. The mixture is thick but they have turned out fantastic every time. Good luck for the next time!

ChaChaneen said...

The rumor for me was it is a cookie recipe. ha ha

The strong flavor was probably due to the gingerbread. The recipe is exactly as the name of using it as a cookie by adding white chocolate chips. I made them using the spice cake mix and they were very good... as cookies... tasted mostly of pumpkin too because the spice cake mix is very mild. However these are SOFT cookies and experience taught me NOT to store them in air tight containers because they will get even softer... almost mushy so I put mine in paperbags and used my hole punch tool to make vent holes for the air to flow through and it worked great.

Anonymous said...

this looks DELISH! I must steal it! :)

love your blog!

Tracey said...

I'm curious, I might try this with pumpkin pie mix and yellow cake mix to see if I get a nice "light on the spice" cupcake. Thanks for the idea!

A said...

Looks yummy!

kanishk said...

this looks DELISH!Thanks for the idea!

Work From Home India

Joanne said...

First of all, I love your blog! I use this recipe often. One of my favorite ways to use it is to make a bundt cake and sprinkle a little powdered sugar on before serving, although my family would rather have a dollop of whipped cream on it, so I often oblige. I have adjusted the recipe at times and added up to 1/8 cup of water. For Thanksgiving dinners, I often add whatever seasonings I put in my pumpkin pie to "punch it up" a bit. Another family favorite is when I use a carrot cake mix, add 1/8 cup water, raisins, nuts, and shredded carrots along with the pumpkin. It is a quick and tasty substitute for homemade carrot cake!

Tracy Golightly-Garcia said...

I have made fresh bread and pumpkin bread form your recipes. My family has gone crazy over these breads!

I will be making the Cinnamon Spice Muffins soon.

Great blog and I lookforward to many more great recipes.

Best
Tracy :)

Keith said...

Those look so delicious. I'm getting so hungry now.

Laura said...

Wow what a great recipe idea.

I enjoyed visiting your blog today so much.

Laura

Amber said...

Ooooo, Me, me, me! *Jumps up and down and waves hands* We've made this one! And we love it too, even though I feel a little guilty about using a *mix.* :) Oh well; it's worth it sometimes!

We use the spice cake mix, and regular pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix. I agree with a previous commenter that that's probably why the spices were too strong for you.

These are soooo good if you underbake them a little and let them be gooey! :) :)

What-is-this said...

This look delicious...... Thanks
I love your blog