post thanksgiving pumpkin muffins

What a fantastic Thanksgiving. This year was actually our first Thanksgiving together as a family, since Sam was in the hospital last year getting chemo. I remember I tried to make it special by having take-out delivered so we didn't have to eat cafeteria food, while Jack had his first bites of turkey and gravy with my parents at a corner diner. Neither of us even saw him that day since he wasn't allowed at the hospital. It's hard to believe how much your life can change within the course of a year. Obviously, we have much to be thankful for.
     Though there were many amazing dishes from last night, I just wanted to quickly share these muffins we baked up this morning. They're a great way to use up any leftover canned pumpkin and easy for small hands to help mix since they require no more than 2 bowls and a whisk. A sweet little morning after Thanksgiving tradition.

Pumpkin Muffins

Dry Mix
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Wet Mix
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare a regular 12 cup size muffin tin with liners.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together dry mix ingredients. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk together all of the wet mix ingredients until smooth, then mix in the flour mixture just until combined. If you overmix, you're going to have tough, rubbery muffins.

Stir together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each cup should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon-sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins out of the pan and on to a cooling rack.