Pumpkin Muffins with Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake Mix

Start your fall mornings right with these quick and easy pumpkin muffins. Using Trader Joe's seasonal pumpkin pancake mix as a base makes this recipe a breeze to prepare.

My mom asked me to pick up her favorite pumpkin bread mix one year, but the store only had pumpkin pancake mix. I played around with the proportions to turn it into muffins — this is the simple, tested adaptation that worked best for us.

Ingredients

• 10.6 oz of Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake mix, half of a 21.2 oz box
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 egg

Optional Mixins

Choose one, or a combination in lesser amounts.

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
2. If opening a new box of pancake mix, measure out half (10.6 oz) and set the rest aside for another use.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Add pumpkin pancake mix with sugar. Don't overmix; that will activate the gluten and make the muffins tough.
4. Add mixins. Stir just until dry streaks disappear. Lumps are OK.
5. Fill muffin cups about 1/2 full (or slightly less) with the batter.
6. Top each muffin with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese.
7. Bake at 375°F for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This is what the cranberry pumpkin muffins looked like when filled approx. 1/2 full. Maybe I should be more careful about filling each cup evenly!

Yield

This recipe makes approximately 12 muffins.

Tips

• Don't overfill the muffin cups — the batter will rise during baking.