Pumpkin Bread / Birthday Cake

For Alex's birthday party this past Saturday, we had a fall-ish theme.
Chili, corn bread, you name it.
So, for his birthday "cake" I wanted to do something a little different.
He's a guy, so he could really care less... so he tells me.
I took him up on it.

I decided to pull out a recipe I tried for the first time last year - and loved. I found the recipe on a fellow blogger's site. Let's just say, it was my first taste of Connie's blog, and I am still reading it - everyday - a year later.

The recipe is for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin bread.
I decided to make Chocolate Chip Pumpkin muffins. Little mini ones. Bite-sized, if you will.

Never in my life did I think that chocolate chips and pumpkin would go together.
But, trust me, dear reader, they do.

THINGS OF IMPORTANCE:

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice (not in original recipe, but I love it added in)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sugar

THAT’S AN ORDER:

• Gently mix (by hand) all dry ingredients.
• Combine all liquids and slowly add to dry ingredients. Stir the entire time, until smooth.
• Add 1 bag of Toll-House Chocolate Chips. {I guess you could add nuts or raisins in lieu of the chips, but why bother?!}
• Grease pans.  
• Oven should be at 350*.
• Bake for 25-38 minutes (depending on pan, oven, etc).
• Do not over bake. That would be bad.
• Use a toothpick or thin knife to check doneness.

TOP IT WITH LOVE:

The original recipe (and one I use when making the bread) is a crumb topping:

• 1 tbls flour
• 5 tbls brown sugar
• 1 tbls melted butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Add crumb mixture to top of batter and bake per instructions above.

For Alex’s Party Muffin’s, I used the following glaze:

• 1 pound Powdered Sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup of milk (add more later to create appropriate consistency)

Mix, mix, mix, drizzle, drizzle, drizzle.

The recipe can make about 6-8 mini loafs.
I was able to make 48 mini muffins and 6 extra large muffins from my batter on Saturday afternoon.

The only issue is, once you put the plate out - they disappear.
Seriously.

They are that good.

Click here to view the original recipe by the ever-so-clever Connie.

If you try these babies, let me know how you like them!