Pumpkin Praline Muffins

Some of life's best inventions come from improvision.  (Is that a word? I was going to use improvising, but I think that's a dangling participle.  Oops inner geek alert!)  Anyway, Monday was Boss' day and I had been planning all weekend to make a pumpkin cheesecake to take into work.  Well, at 3pm on Sunday, I realized my springform pan was somewhere in a dank storage unit.  Clearly, I had no motivation, nor the time to truck on over and go digging around in my menagerie of a storage unit.  I wanted to bring a fall treat using the ingredients I already had on hand.  As I was sifting through my Better Homes and Gardens Baking book, the recipe for Pumpkin Praline Muffins called out to me.....Make me, make me!!!  I have loved pralines since about the age of 9.  There used to be a little ice cream shop here in town named the Big Scoop.  This is where I had Pecan praline ice cream for the first time and so began a life long love affair!  The pralines in these muffins are super simple to make and the Boss' as well as the other members on my team gave me such kudos, and I am now the go-to gal of baking in the office....sorry not trying to brag.  Like my cousin says, we just show our love and appreciation for others with the food we make.  Try these.....as Miles said, they are "To die for!" 

The recipe I am making was altered.....I only had 1/2 a cup of pumpkin puree in the fridge and no time to cook down another pie pumpkin so I improvised and used applesauce. I don't think it mattered much....people scarffed on these babies!

Preheat oven to 375.  This only made 14 muffins so you may want to double this recipe.

1/3 c brown sugar
2 tbsp sour cream
2/3 chopped pecans
2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 beaten egg
3/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 c butter melted

Line muffin pan, in a small mixing bowl, stir together 1/3 c brown sugar and sour cream. Stir in pecans set aside

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture

In another bowl combine egg, buttermilk, pumpkin, vanilla,  2/3 cup brown sugar and melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir till well combined.  It will be a really thick batter. I use a large cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop to make the muffins a uniform size. Fill each cup about 3/4 full.  Then spoon 2 tsp pecan mixture on top of each muffin.  Bake @ 375 for 25 minutes.  Best served warm.