Sign of Autumn - The Return of the Pumpkin Muffin

Well, it's official. Disneyland has officially rolled into the Autumn season when the Pumpkin Muffin made its first appearance at the Blue Ribbon Bakery yesterday. Somewhere Mrs. DisneylandTraveler is doing a happy dance because she loves these things. We're probably not going to make it down there this HalloweenTime but depriving Mrs. DLT of the beloved muffin is not an option. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, here is the Disney parks pumpkin muffin recipe:

Recipe:

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

Pumpkin Muffins:
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended.


Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until just blended. Overmixing may result in less tender muffins.

Fold in the raisins until consistently distributed.

Portion mixture into muffin pans and bake at 325 F for 25 minutes.

Insert a toothpick into center of muffin and remove. If toothpick is clean, the muffins are ready. If not, allow muffins to cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until toothpick is clean. Allow muffins to cool for 30-60 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Allow cream cheese and butter to soften at room temperature for about an hour.

Mix cream cheese and butter together until smooth.

Add vanilla extract, powdered sugar and cinnamon, and mix until well blended.

Remove from mixer, and cover and refrigerate until needed.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with icing.

Poke a hole into the center of each cooled muffin and squeeze icing directly into the middle of the muffin, finishing with a rosette on the top.