Nutella Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins

I suppose it's to be expected, since this is the first recipe I made up and photographed since the chub was born, but I was having an awful time getting these muffins right. 

I could blame it on being sleep-deprived or just being rusty from my lack of baking over the past five weeks, but I think instead I'll blame it on the fact that the sun is already starting to set right now at THREE IN THE AFTERNOON. I think my brain must look something like the shriveled cactus sitting on my window sill that died of sunlight starvation.

Anyway, first the Nutella sank to the bottom. I guess Grandma didn't mean her trusty old pumpkin bread recipe to be the bearer of heinous amounts of Nutella. 

I tweaked it to thicken up the batter so the Nutella couldn't sink to the bottom again. It seemed to be a success. They are the muffins you see before you. 

I ate one after I photographed them and thought, "this is alright." 

I took another bite, "they're a little bit dry actually."

I choked down another bite. I gagged. I sputtered. I coughed.

"Well, at least the Nutella moistens them up. I'm sure none of my blog readers will know the difference, anyway."

I laid awake all night, tossing and turning, thinking of the angry emails from people who had almost died choking on my dry muffins. 

I bolted out of bed and knew that something must be done. I must continue to tweak the recipe. 

So I modified this Nutella Swirl Banana Bread  which was one of my first blog posts ever. I swapped out the banana for pumpkin and made a few more adjustments and as it turns out, I guess I actually knew what I was doing back then at the tender age of 18. They were perfect. 

So long story short, although Samuel assures me that you can't tell from the photos that these muffins were as dry as handfuls of the Sahara desert, if you do detect a hint of dryness in the photos, don't worry. If you follow the tweaked recipe below, you'll have these muffins only more moist and delicious. Enjoy.

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• Nutella Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins
• Makes 7 Muffins
• 
  
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (about half of a 15 oz. can, or make your own!)
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or gluten free all-purpose mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 slightly heaping teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• A pinch of cloves
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Beat together the egg, sugar, oil, and vanilla. And the pumpkin and mix until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda. baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. 
• Divide the batter into the muffin pan in 7 muffin liners. Place a scoop of the Nutella on top of each muffin and swirl lightly with a toothpick or knife, trying not to push the Nutella down to the bottom of the muffin.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• 
  
• You can also double the recipe to bake in a 10 inch loaf pan!