Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins

Last October I made this Pumpkin Bread and dedicated it to the two pumpkins in my life.  I may have started a tradition.  Albeit a sappy one.  Tomorrow, Robbie and I will celebrate our two year anniversary by eating a fancy dinner at one of our New York City restaurant bucket list places.  Meanwhile, Newt and I celebrate our 7+ years together on a daily basis by trading kitty head butts followed by cold stares.  

You'll notice in the archive of this tiny blog of mine a huge gap between the months of June - December of 2010.  That was because I was in the throes of wedding preparations and, afterwards, trying to create some sense of 'normalcy' post-wedding.  There were times after the wedding when I would get home with this anxiety of  what wedding deadline was coming up only to realize the big day was over and I had nothing to do but watch the Bachelor.  To top it off, I was living nearly 100 miles from Robbie.  I was deciding very important wifely things like what my official name should be -- Mary Jordan Samuel, Mary Mullinax Samuel, Mary-Jordan Mullinax Samuel, Britney Spears Samuel, etc. -- and how to deal with the confusion from my colleagues when they realized this newlywed still lived apart from her husband.  (Side note - I actually recommend not living with your spouse right after you get married as a way of easing into this lifestyle.)  

Once we got our groove, I think it worked out well.  And considering we went from living apart to living in this tiny NYC apartment for over a year now, I'd say things are miraculously good.  We still have our disagreements and I imagine these will never go away but we are (well, I am - nothing seems to bother Robbie) adapting.  Robbie hasn't figured out that I throw all his crumbled up receipts that he leaves on the dresser away because I assume since they are being treated like trash then they are trash.  He didn't question when I chose the side of the bed farthest from the bedroom door by giving him the logic of 'that way you can come to bed as late as you want' when in reality it was because I didn't want to have to feed Newt at 6 am every morning.  He lets me keep all my shoes in the closet while his get exiled outside the apartment in the hallway where he then has to move them inside every Monday when the superintendent vacuums.  And, God bless him, he pretends not to notice when I sneak an extra scoop of ice cream from the container.  

Newt, on the other hand, is another story.  He continues to make me feel guilty when I spend five minutes not paying attention to him.  He hisses at our neighbor cat when they run into each other in the hallway and then looks at me with a sense of loyalty and concern that even I find astounding as if to say 'Yo, you ok Mom?  I can take this playa if you need me to.'  He manages to take up the entire bed so that Robbie and I are squeezed into our own, separate 1 x 5 foot space.  Come to think of it, Newt sounds a lot like me . . . 

 

To thank Robbie for putting up with me and my 20+ pound diabetic cat that I brought into this relationship, I made him these pumpkin muffins.  And then I rationed how many he could have because I wanted to save some for guests that we had in town.  And he didn't question me at all.  He just raved about how good they were and how they were better than any dessert he could find on the island of Manhattan.  He knows I would rather be lied to than to be told something I made wasn't the best-thing-ever.  

I love you MT.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from PeoplesBank's Centennial Commemorative Recipes and Remembrances

Makes about 15 regular sized muffins.

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 Tablespoon Vietnamese Cinnamon (or 1 Tablespoon regular cinnamon)

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon mace

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup butterscotch chips

2 large eggs

1 stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients.  Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients.   In a small bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin and butter.  Stir in chips.  Pour this mixture into the well of dry ingredients. Fold until moistened.  Do not overmix.  Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Mine took about 21 minutes.