Featured Recipe: Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

At Big Shoulders Coffee and its five cafes throughout Chicago, founder Tim Coonan brings decades of experience working in prestigious restaurants around the world. Coonan offers a handful of pastries and baked goods to pair along with the coffee, including these Pumpkin Pecan Muffins.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1.5 stick or 6 oz butter
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 15 oz pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

Topping

• 5 T all-purpose flour
• 5 T melted butter
• 5 T raw sugar
• ¾ cup pecan pieces
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon                 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 12 piece muffin tin. Mix together topping ingredients in a bowl, set aside. Move on to muffin batter.
2. Whisk together first seven ingredients. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, using a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time fully incorporating each addition. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping down sides as needed. Add pumpkin puree on low speed. On low speed add reserved dry mixture.  
4. Spoon or using an ice cream scoop fill prepared muffin tin then spoon on topping.