Girth

This morning it was 32 degrees outside when I left my house. Ridiculous. I can't begin to fathom how not ready I am for the colder weather. It's not like it's a surprise. It's just that this year I'm faced with a whole new set of challenges. Like the fact that none of my many winter coats will now zip around the protruding pumpkin that has become my belly. I have a propensity for buying slim fitted things, which I kind of forgot about until I tried to zip up my favorite coat. Yeah, so not happening. I'm going to have to buy something, which sucks big time since I'm trying not to buy maternity clothes. Maybe I'll just walk around in an afghan all season. I could call it a poncho and then I'd be so fashion forward, right? Just agree with me, since you don't want to upset the pregnant lady.

Not that baking will help the girth situation (which I am completely digging anyway), but it certainly helps the cold situation. I love having the oven on in the winter. I also love using up leftover stuff, so this muffin recipe used a bit of my Thanksgiving relish, plus a can of pumpkin pie filling I bought accidentally (thinking it was plain old puree). So fraking good guys. And if you haven't yet caved to my peer pressure and bought Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, then you can click the link for the dough recipe. Or just buy it already. It is Christmas time after all, and this book will change your life.


Pumpkin Cranberry Streusel  Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 batch of Pumpkin Pie Brioche Dough 
1 cup of cranberry sauce, preferably homemade
6 Tbls cold butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup pecans, chopped

Preparation:
Line muffin tins with 16 paper liners. Dust your work surface and the surface of your brioche dough with flour. Cut out half of the dough with kitchen shears or a serrated knife. Quickly shape the dough into a ball, dusting with more flour if needed. Drop the ball of dough onto your floured work surface and cut in half. Cut each half into 6 even slices. Roll each slice into a ball (  they should be about the size of a golf ball) and drop into muffin liners. Cut a hole in the center of each ball with a knife and use your fingers to stretch the hole to about the size of a large grape. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes to rise.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the streusel topping by combining cinnamon, flour, sugar and pecans in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a knife or a fork until crumbly. As the brioche dough rises, your holes may begin to fill up, so you may need to re-stretch them. Once you have done this, spoon a teaspoon of cranberry sauce into each muffin. Top with streusel. Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool in the pan.

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