These muffins are dense and sweet--sort of like a cakey pumpkin doughnut. The muffins are also a great way to use up your discard and a cup of pumpkin if you have some left from another baking project. The muffins contain no baking powder or baking soda and depend on the sourdough for their rise. With no kneading involved, the muffins are easy to make, and you can glaze them or not, depending on how much sweetness you want in your muffins. I actually prefer the muffins unglazed and with just a cinnamon-sugar topping. The muffins are great for breakfast, tea time, or snacks. Enjoy!
Sourdough Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins -- Makes 12
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/2 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup of pumpkin puree
3/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour (or use regular wheat flour)
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
In a large bowl, stir or whisk together well the starter/discard, oil, sugars, vanilla, and egg. Whisk in the pumpkin puree until combined. Stir in the flours and nutmeg until well combined. Loosely cover the mixture and let it sit at least an hour or up to five hours. Stir the mixture down and add:
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Stir the thick batter until everything is combined. Coat 12 muffin wells with non-stick cooking spray and divide the batter among the wells. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on top of the batter if you'd like. Let the muffins rise for a couple of hours or until the muffins are barely to the top of the muffin wells (they won't rise much). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the muffins for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the muffins cool in their pan for about 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely. If you'd like to glaze the muffins, mix the following ingredients together, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds, stir it, and drizzle it on top of the muffins:
1 cup of confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon of butter
1 tablespoon of orange juice (you can use a little more if the mixture is too thick for you)
