REBECCA'S CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN MUFFINS


 My friend, Rebecca, made these fabulous muffins for
 a Friday Nite Game Nite and we loved them. They are
 good that they demand a glass of ice cold milk be enjoyed with them.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
                                           3/4 c. sugar 
                                          1 1/2 c. self rising flour 
                                          1 1/2 teaspoons  pie spice or cinnamon  
                                          1/4 c. vegetable oil 
                                           2 eggs 
                                          1/4 c. water 
                                          3/4 c. pumpkin (canned) 
                                          3/4 c. mini chocolate chips


 Mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips . 

   It'll look something like this 




Fold-in miniature chocolate chips .


  Spoon muffin batter into the muffin pan,
  filling them approximately 3/4 full.

 Set timer for 15 minutes, for regular size muffins,
   then, check them, using a toothpick inserted in the center
   of the muffin, to check for doneness.



 Bake 400 degrees 15-20 minutes,or
   if baking mini muffins, bake only 15 minutes.

 Allow muffins to cook in the pan for a few minutes.
 Next, using a butter knife, pass it around
  the muffins to loosen them and flip them
  on their side to allow the bottoms to cool.

Yummy !

These are so delicious.  I hope that you enjoy them.

 Check back for other recipes and tips and treasures.

My Biscuit recipe that tastes very similar to Cracker Barrel's Biscuits


Ingredients:
5 c. sifted, unbleached all purpose flour
(measure after sifting)
1 T. plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 T. kosher salt
1/2 c. plus 2 T. packed butter or lard,chilled
2 c. chilled buttermilk
3 T. unsalted butter, melted , to brush the tops with.

Heat oven 500 degrees. ~ be sure to preheat your oven at this point~  Yes, you read that right, 500° No lower !!!

In large bowl, whisk together sifted flour, baking powder,
and kosher salt.
Add lard, coating in flour. Working fast, rub lard between
fingertips until half the lard is coarsely blended and half
remains in large pieces about 3/4" .
Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add buttermilk
all at once. With a large spoon, stir mixture quickly just until
it is blended and begins to mass and form a sticky dough.
(if it appears dry, add 1-2 T. of additional buttermilk
  

Immediately turn dough out onto generously floured
surface.  Using floured hands, knead briskly 8-10
times until cohesive ball of dough forms.  Do not
"overknead", as this will make your biscuits heavy
like a lead weight. 

I flour a 2 1/2 or 3" biscuit cutter. 

~start cutting from the outter edge and cut each one
as close to each other as possible, not to leave so
many pieces to have to reknead again.  Reknead as
little as possible after you start cutting the biscuits. ~
Cut biscuits and place on a parchment lined baking
sheet or just bake them in a well greased black iron
skillet. 

 Combine the scraps to form 1 or 2 more biscuits.

Place on rack in upper 3rd of oven.***this is very important***

~the temperature called for in a biscuit recipe, is very important, because of the type of "fat" used in the

recipe; so, if a recipe calls for baking at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes, it is what is required.  This recipe calls for lard or crisco or butter ....if a biscuit recipe calls for only oil as the "fat" content, then, you would bake those biscuits at 400 degrees. 

Bake  in a 500 degree oven .

Bake 8-12 minutes til golden brown.

Remove. Brush with melted butter and serve hot.

ps I did have a pic of the biscuits in the black iron skillet, and some on a plate all buttered up, but, my daughter sent the pics to my email and it messed up and she had deleted the pics off of her phone before I could tell her that they didn't turn out too good and some did not show up.  Maybe I'll remember to take pics again next time I make biscuits.