Did someone say "Dessert"?

I just spent three days in Gamer Geek heaven: BoardGameGeekCon, put on right here in DFW by the good folks at BoardGameGeek. This annual event always scores  three of my vacation days, and while it is loads of fun, it also means three days where I don't really see my lovely wife and amazing child, as I come home after they are in bed and either sleep in until after they leave for work and school, or get my sorry butt out of bed and back into the fray early. Either way, they graciously allow me to be absent for a long weekend, for which I am quite grateful.

So grateful, in fact, that I made sure to make time on Sunday to bake for Dorothy's office "Dessert Buffet", with plenty left over to keep for the Big Feast coming up this week (at least, I hope they'll last that long ...). I made two items for her to take along: one family recipe for which I have become well known among my friends, and one I found at the awesome Buns In My Oven blog.

First, I made a batch of these lovely little "donut muffins". I made the first batch exactly according to the directions, and while they were very tasty, the batter didn't mix together quite right and the texture wasn't as light as I'd like.  So when I made the second batch, I altered the recipe a bit to follow what Alton Brown calls "The Muffin Method".  I achieved my goal: a lighter, fluffier, more muffin-y texture. Here is my version:

Sugar Donut Muffins (based on a recipe from BunsInMyOven.com)
    * 3/4 cup sugar
    * 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    * 3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
    * 1 large egg
    * 1 tsp vanilla extract

    * 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
    * 2 tsp baking power
    * 1/4 tsp salt
    * 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

    * 2 tablespoons melted butter, for dipping
    * 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling
    * 1 tablespoon cinnamon, for rolling

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl beat together sugar, oil, milk, egg, and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl (or a food processor) mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add the dry mix to the liquid and stir just enough to bring together. Do not overmix.

Pour into muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 minutes until tester comes out clean.

Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir together sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl. When the muffins are done allow to cool for a few minutes, until you are able to handle them easily. Dunk the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Makes 24 mini-muffins or 12 regular muffins

My other contribution to the Dessert Buffet is a variation on my mother's Pumpkin Bread. When I was a kid, she would make this bread in used coffee tins, which I always found fascinating, as it produced a perfectly circular slice. I don't drink coffee, and while Dorothy does, she doesn't drink the sort that comes in large tins, so I generally just bake this in bread pans. Recently I tried baking it in mini-muffin pans, and that worked perfectly, giving bite sized nuggets of joy. For this time, I decided to try out my new mini-loaf pans, and got a set of lovely little loaves, which I think will be the perfect size to give as part of a baked-goods Winter-Holiday-of-Your-Choice basket.

I also was fortunate to have picked up a batch of fresh cooked pumpkin from a neighbor, which is always a bonus. Alex has given the thumbs-up to fresh pumpkin; the texture (and color) came out a bit lighter, but the flavor is excellent. The fresh cooked pumpkin was watery compared to the canned sort, so I reduced the water a bit. Otherwise, the recipe works the same either way.

Pumpkin Bread (family recipe)
    * 2 cup (or 1 can) cooked pumpkin
    * 3 cup sugar
    * 2/3 cup water
    * 1 cup corn oil
    * 4 eggs
   
    * 3 1/2 cup flour
    * 2 tsp baking soda
    * 1 1/2 tsp salt
    * 4 tsp cinnamon
    * 1 tsp nutmeg
   
    * (optional) 1 cup chopped pecans
   
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tin or break pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl beat together pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, and eggs until smooth. In another bowl (or a food processor) mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

If making muffins or mini-muffins: Add the dry mix to the liquid and stir just enough to bring together. Do not overmix. If using pecans, add them and stir in. Pour into muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until tester comes out clean.

If making bread loaves or mini-loaves: Add the dry mix to the liquid and mix until smooth. If using pecans, add them and stir in. Pour into bread pans. Bake for 35-50 minutes depending on size of pans, until tester comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves, 7-8 mini-loaves, two dozen muffins, or four dozen mini-muffins.