Mini Pumpkin Muffins

I am thankful that fall is here and the holiday season is approaching. I am looking forward to the cookie baking, the caroling, the general feelings of goodwill, and gifts are fun too. But right now what's making me happy is the preparation for the season. See, the Brain and I made our semi-annual trip to Costco this weekend. We picked up a 50 pound bag of flour.

And loads of butter, chicken, broth, canned goods, a 3-pound bag of tortilla chips, and many many other foodstuffs. Oh and a 50 pound bag of sugar.

For a while, I delighted in my savvy bulk shopping. The savings on the 3 dozen eggs, 12 pounds of butter, the flour and the sugar alone came to more than $25. And I make enough Christmas cookies that I know the savings will be realized. As I was admiring the bounty of our Costco trip, it occurred to me that my mother was right. (She should be happy to hear that.) My kitchen needed some serious organizing. SO I spent the better part of Sunday and today making my kitchen cabinets work for me. Seriously. I pulled everything out of the cabinets and sorted according to "keep" "store elsewhere" and "must go" piles. The "store elsewhere" have been packed in plastic bins in the basement and the "must go" are probably going to stay in the garage until the Brain decides he's ready to let them go. The rest of the stuff went back into the cupboards. And now I have a very nicely organized kitchen.

See how shiny the counters are? And seriously my stove is probably 30 years old, but you can't tell anymore thanks to Mr. Magic Eraser.

My stepdad is thankful for these Mini Pumpkin Muffins. They really were delicious. He took the rest of them home with him. Which turned out to be a very good thing. I was having trouble resisting their pumpkiny goodness. And it was so easy just to pup them like candy.

Mini Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through nutmeg) in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine canola oil, eggs, and pumpkin in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spray mini muffin tins and scoop batter into cups. Bake until a toothpic inserted in one mini muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes or so. Turn out onto rack to cool.