I was looking through my pumpkin cookbook called
Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year by Dee Dee Stovel and found an interesting fudge recipe.
So I made the fudge -- even doubled the recipe! Licked the pan, spoons, etc... And it tasted great. However, it did not harden. I put it on ice packs, in the fridge and finally in the freezer. FAIL! We resorted to pouring it on ice cream. That tasted good, but, I still had a humongous pan of saucy pumpkin stuff. Soooooooooooooooooooo, I found another recipe in the same cookbook for muffins. I thought the exchanges might work. But, I was a little hesitant since you can't "normally" mess around with all that baking stuff. But lo and behold it worked!! I will list both recipes, since they might work for you. I think the problem I had with the fudge was that I didn't cook it long enough. I don't have a candy thermometer and "thought" it got hot enough, but, apparently it didn't.
"Pumpkin Fudge" pg 212
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 tablespoons, canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1. Grease 9 inch square baking pan with butter
2. Combine the sugar, milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Still stirring, continue to cook until the mixture reaches 236 degrees on a candy thermometer.
3. Remove from heat, add the vanilla, and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth. Scrape into the prepared pan and let cool.
4. When it is completely cooled, cut into squares and enjoy or warp carefully and store in the refrigerator for later.
"Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins" pg 144
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (I used salted)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 cups unbleached flour
1 tbl baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg (didn't use)
Topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbl butter, melted
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl, until fluffy. add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in the pumpkin and buttermilk.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg into the pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth. The batter will be stiff
4. Spray two 12-cup muffin pans with butter flavored spray. Divide the batter among the 24 cups and baked for 25 to 30 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and tester comes out clean. Cool the muffins for a few minutes on the wire rack.
5. For the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are cool enough to handle, generously brush the tops with butter and roll in the cinnamon and sugar. Cool and serve.
(I used two bowls -- one with melted butter, the other with cinnamon/sugar. I used muffin cups for the regular muffins and then dipped them in the butter and then the cinnamon - easy peasy!)
-------------------------
When I made the muffins I did not add the sugar (since there was already a little less than four cups in the fudge) and the buttermilk. I also didn't add the nutmeg because we like cinnamon better and that was in the fudge, too.
I globbed the "failed fudge" into everything else, sort of following the order in the muffin recipe. It made more than the 24 muffins. I got a tray of mini muffins and a teense bit more leftover.
My recipe being all nifty and hanging on my skirt hanger. The failed fudge on the left and the muffin cups to the right.
The finished muffins all dipped in butter and sugar.
IF I were to make this recipe again, I would definitely add 1-2 cups more sugar, add vanilla and cinnamon. I would use the buttermilk (or maybe use sour cream as a substitute for that), and follow everything else basically the same. I find I like my pumpkin stuff sweeter, therefore MORE sugar!
I would probably purchase a candy thermometer before making the fudge, again. It would be amazing, I just know it. Maybe next year.
That's it for today.... Till next time!
