Workin' What You Got

It used to be, whenever I wanted to bake something, I would just go down to the store and buy whatever ingredients I needed. And no, I was not formerly independently wealthy (unless you count "living with your parents" as being independently wealthy). I just placed "brownies" in the same necessary category as "ibuprofen" and "kleenex;" when you need it, you need it.

Now, I'm trying to live a little smarter; I don't ALWAYS make cupcakes on a whim, and I try to not go out for every single ingredient I need.

Case in point: last Thursday, I wanted to bake. However, I decided that instead of making something based on my own whims, I would make something based on what I actually HAD. Imagine that. So, I started with a few ingredients;

 That's vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, white chocolate, and pecan pieces. And from this, along with some other ingredients, I made...

Pumpkin White Chocolate Pecan Muffins with Cream Cheese Drizzle

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. vegetable oil (substitute apple sauce for less fat)

3/4 c. canned pumpkin

1/4 c. water

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

dash allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. white chocolate chips

1/3 c. pecan pieces

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Grease and flour muffin pan, or use paper liners.

2. Mix sugar, oil and eggs together. Add pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. More or less spices can be added if you prefer. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Add the white chocolate chips.

3. Pour mix into prepared muffin tins, and fill cups 2/3 full. I prefer to sprinkle on the pecans at this point, because I think they taste better just on top, but you can mix them into the batter, if you like.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove the muffins from the tin to cool. While the muffins are cooling, prepare the:

Cream Cheese Drizzle

1-2 tbsp cream cheese

1 c. powdered sugar

1-2tbsp milk

Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. You can add more or less powdered sugar until it is to the consistency you prefer. You'll want to be able to drizzle it off a spoon, but you want it to hold it's shape a bit, like a thin frosting.

6. Drizzle the frosting over the muffins. And EAT!