Cinnamon-sugar and some old gym shorts.

I believe that nearly spec of clothing that I own is dirty, and that is saying a lot.  I have many a garment- almost all of them patterned in some way, but this was not always the case.

When I was young, God made monthly miracles of my parents' salaries, and they provided for the three of us well.  I always had clean clothes to wear- rarely if ever second hand- but I didn't have many (in my 12 year-old opinion).  Jr. High was brutal to me, and I was well aware of my insufficient (in their eyes) wardrobe.  One night in tears, I cried to my dad that I didn't have enough clothes.  He was probably heart-broken, but the two of us grabbed onto the bar in my closet and prayed that one day it would be full.

Fast forward nearly 20 years, and it has happened.

But someone, please come do my laundry.  Please?

So today I have on my high school gym shorts, coupled with an old white v-neck t-shirt.  Surely I have something that is not smelly available to greet the public in, but it will have to be creative.

All of this to say, I remember wearing these old shorts, nearly three times a week.  They never got very sweaty, as I was not the type to over-exert myself in PE.  Never-the-less, there we all were- lined up in purple or green shorts- donning some dumb t-shirt declaring something clever like, "oh this learning; what a thing it is!"  We met to run "big laps," and then to play some ridiculous sport like badminton, gymnastics, or archery; or take a semester-ly walk to the bakery for some hot sugar bread.  I hated these shorts (unless there was sugar bread involved).  I constantly forgot them, and had a pile of demerits for leaving them at home.

In all of my running this morning, I believe something sugary is in order- and I think Ms. Howard would agree.  Sorry, it isn't Moravian sugar bread, but how about some...

Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon-Sugar Topping?

There is a lot of hype right now about "donut muffins," when you take a muffin, dip it in butter, and then completely cover it in cinnamon-sugar.  When I set out to make these, the donut muffin was my desired end.  I did it with one, and I could not believe the vile amount of butter it sucked up.  I wanted so badly to take a bite, but I couldn't do it.  So, I decided to dip only the tops instead.

Oh. My. Goodness.  Heaven.

Yum.

Yum.

But do eat these straight away.  The cinnamon-sugar forms a hard crust for the first couple of hours, but then it gets a bit soggy on top.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 + 2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 t vanilla
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup cake flour
1/2 t baking soda
pinch of baking powder
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t ginger
pinch of cloves

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
cinnamon-sugar

Set the oven at 350 degrees.  Prepare a muffin pan with 9 liners.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl often.  Add the egg and mix well.  Add the puree and vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.  Add them to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk (beginning and ending with dry).

Bake for @16-18 minutes.

Pull out of the tin immediately, and let cool on a rack for 3-5 minutes.

In the meantime, melt the butter, and place the cinnamon sugar into a shallow dish.  Dip the tops of the muffins in the butter, and then into the cinnamon-sugar.  Place back on the rack.  Repeat until you have finished all of the muffins.

Enjoy.  And you will.  Believe me.

Dig out your old PE shorts, and get some stuff done today.  Maybe even some laundry.

Rachel Bee