Fall is the season of abundance and cooking with your family and friends is a great way to cultivate joy and spice (pumpkin spice) in your kitchen.
These are two favorites in our house:
Mulled Apple Cider
Now this is a recipe you can make every weekend! The fragrant spices will boost everyone’s mood. Cinnamon is known to enhance mood and help with relaxation.
Ingredients:
10 allspice berries
10 cloves
2 star anise
4 cinnamon sticks
½ gallon apple cider*
¼ cup rum, optional
1 small orange, for garnish
Whole cranberries, for garnish
Toast the spices on low heat in a large crock pot, 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add apple cider and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better. Add in orange slices and cranberries before serving.
Pumpkin Apple Muffins
Adopted from Two Peas in a Pod- Maria Lichty
Ingredients:
½ Tablespoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda1 ½ c all purpose flour
1 c. wheat flour
¾ c. white sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup applesauce
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples (I used Granny Smith apples)
In a large bowl, sift together 2 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, spices, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, oil, and applesauce. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just enough to moisten. Do not over mix. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mix together 2 T. flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons oats. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.
Bake in pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes for the regular muffins and about 12-15 for the mini muffins. Check on them frequently. Use the toothpick trick!
Let cool and enjoy!
Prerana Sangani, MD, November 7, 2022
