Perfect Pumpkin Muffies

Just the other day I ate a Pumpkin Muffy at Panera Bread.  Oh my!  It was beyond delicious!  I began a quest to create something just as delicious in my own kitchen.  I started by trying my favorite Pumpkin Bread recipe baked in a muffy pan, but it was too dense.  So I went to the web, and  I found a muffin recipe which gave me some place to start.  It turned out perfect!  Here's my version which added an egg and traded the pumpkin pie spice into separate measures for each spice.

1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C canned pumpkin
1/3 C vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 shakes of nutmeg
2 shakes of cloves

Put everything into a large bowl and stir until well-mixed.  Put a large blob of batter into a greased muffy pan.  It should almost cover the bottom of each individual muffy.  Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Remove from pan to cool.  Allow pan to cool and repeat with remaining batter. Sprinkle muffies with powdered sugar or add a dollop of Caramel Cream Cheese Topper.

Caramel Cream Cheese Topper
Soften 8oz. cream cheese and whip with a hand-mixer.
Add 1/4 to 1/3 C caramel ice cream topping
Add 1/2 C powdered sugar

Yield:  9 muffies

A favorite topper, other than sprinkling powdered sugar is Caramel Cream Cheese.