Hurricane Sandy Pumpkin Apple Butter Muffins

When I moved to New York six years ago, if someone had said the phrase "hunker down" I'd probably think a blizzard was coming. But the past two years, it's been an unlikely culprit: hurricanes! Last year, I made hurricane cookies, that contributed to what we dubbed the "hurricane of carbs" when all that ended up happening was some rain and a lot of chips and cookie eating. This time around we're told it'll be worse, so I took my baking slightly more seriously.

I made pumpkin muffins, making a few substitutions based on what we had on hand. And in an attempt to make them healthier, I used some homemade apple butter instead of oil. I figured they'll keep for awhile so we can eat them for days if we need to. But they're pretty good, we've been bad rationers :)



Pumpkin Apple Butter Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

For the topping:

- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 T. white sugar
- 2 T. brown sugar
- 2 T. cold butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pecans

For the muffins:

- 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
- 1/2 cup apple butter or applesauce
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup milk (or half & half thinned with water, if you're making these in a hurricane :)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin.

Combine the topping ingredients (except pecans) in a small bowl and use a fork to cut the butter into small pieces. When it resembles coarse meal with a few larger chunks, mix in the pecans. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, apple butter, eggs and sugar. Add the dry ingredients in two additions, alternating with the milk. Whisk just until mixed.

Spoon into muffin tins, dividing equally into 12 muffins. Top with a bit of the streusel topping.

Baking for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned on top and done in the middle. Eat while watching weathermen try to stay upright on the coast.

(A Weekend in Hudson) Weekend in Pictures

{welcome to hudson!}

{stripes and critter pants in my room}

{accidental ombre coffee}

{bread at cafe le perche}

{cafe le perche}

{pretty warren street}

{strolling}

{navy and turquoise}

{fall}

{heart-ish ivy}

{almost ombre}

{how much is that doggie in the window?}

{sold out!}

{trick or treat}

{a little lion on safari}

{looking out over the hudson}

{drinks at swoon}

{hurrying home on the train before the hurricane}

{bye hudson!}

This past weekend two friends and I skipped town and headed north to Hudson, NY in the Hudson Valley. It's a great little town with a long main street, lots of shops and some yummy restaurants. Plus, with it being Halloween weekend, there were trick-or-treaters out. (Check out that little lion! He was my favorite.) We browsed lots of shops, had some great meals, and also had plenty of lounging time in our cute little townhouse (we watched Clueless and lots of SNL clips). Also, some dancing:

 

Here's some of our Hudson favorites:

Cafe Le Perche A cute little French place with great pastries. Try the apple cheddar scone!

Swoon We had a great dinner here. Lots of local, seasonal ingredients. We each got our own dessert and were pretty reluctant to share, they were so good.

Lili and Loo  Lovely housewares. We cleaned up in the Halloween decor section, lots of skeletons :)

Front Street Guest House Close to the train and an easy walk to Warren St. We stayed in their Half Moon Suite, which is less of a suite and more of a townhouse. It was the best of both worlds - a little bit like a hotel, a little bit like renting a place to ourselves.

Take Me Out of the City

Friends, it's Friday. Aren't you glad? There's apparently a frankenstorm headed towards the East Coast, but for now I'm headed to the train station and heading north for a weekend soaking up fall. I picked up two pretty red flasks (one for me, the other for a pal...I'm not that much of a lush :) to commemorate the occasion, and can't get "Take Me Out of the City" out of my head. Which is ok, really. Happy weekend.

Halloween Marshmallows

I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a Halloween Grinch. But I think a better way to put it might be that I like kid Halloween, not grown up Halloween. And while you can eat candy at any age (and I do), there's just something about how excited kids get over candy at Halloween. So when I found these skull and pumpkin candy molds, I knew I needed to make Halloween marshmallows.



For the the skulls I went with plain vanilla marshmallows, dressed up with flecks of vanilla bean. The pumpkins needed to be orange, so while I was adding color I also added pumpkin flavor (I've posted that recipe before, here). The molds were a little hard to work with, but worth the effort.



Happy Marshmallowween! :)

PieBox

Last summer I made the blueberry pie you see above and, running late with no time to let it cool, wrapped it in a towel, shoved it in a tote bag and headed out to Brooklyn. By the time I had crossed the East River, my towel and tote were soaked through and stained with blueberry juice. If only I had had a PieBox!





PieBox is a simple, lovely pine box that snugly fits one pie. Pie plates are awkward to carry, so I'd love one for taking pies on the subway or to picnics. Plus: pretty! I'm not usually into single-use kitchen items, but this could carry brownies, simple cakes, and anything else you'd like to avoid putting in ugly plasticware. I'm sold. Thanks for the tip, Kate!

(Cocktails & Concerts) Weekend in Pictures

{pre-dinner manhattan and chili popcorn}

{a muted fall sunset}

{kimbra!}

{pom pom skirt}

{jack-o-lanterns at webster hall}

{red ivy}

{williamsburg weirdness}

{the best part of brooklyn - views of manhattan}

After blogging about her a little obsessively, I finally got to see Kimbra live this weekend. As you might expect, the show was all kinds of fun. She wore a skirt that appeared to be made out of pom poms and danced around like a manic music box ballerina. Coupled with birthday celebrating and a lazy day in Williamsburg, it was a lovely weekend. Hope yours was too!

Autumn in a Jar

Did you grow up with apple butter? I've recently learned that some people did and some people didn't. When I say that I'm making apple butter, the people who didn't wonder exactly how apples and butter go together. The people who did get a far off look in their eye, dreaming of the spiced, apple-y flavor.



As for me, I did and I didn't. My grandmother made it, and I have vague memories of eating it on toast at her home in West Virginia. (I've heard tell of a huge copper kettle she used to make it in, that an aunt or uncle is now in possession of. But I feel like it should be mine :) Mostly, I remember eating it on biscuits as a surly teenager, in disbelief that I was being forced to eat Christmas dinner in a Cracker Barrel by the airport en route to visit family for the holidays.



In case you didn't grow up eating apple butter, let me tell you this: it tastes like autumn in a jar. Apples cooked for hours, until they carmelize and turn a deep brown, flavored with cinnamon and cloves. It makes your home smell like what a Yankee candle only dreams of smelling like. And the process of making it is the perfect fall activity. If you decide to "put it up" in jars, the boiling water canner makes your windows fog up, which is just about the most cozy way for a window to be.



The apple butter of our grandmother's generation was sweet. So is the kind they sell at Cracker Barrel. When I started making it myself, when I first moved to New York (a normal time to start a granny's hobby, right?), I tinkered with the sugar until I got it down to just a few tablespoons. I prefer to make it with less sugar so the flavor of the apples stands out. Also, so I can eat it straight from the jar and not feel too guilty.

So, if you love apples, cinnamon, and a few hours spent in a warm kitchen, I suggest you make apple butter. Maybe even this weekend. Canned in tiny jars, it makes a tasty, adorable Christmas gift.

A Virtual Assistant

Have you heard of Fancy Hands? It's a virtual assistant service. After paying a small fee you can give them tasks (anything that can be completed online or over the phone) and they do them for you. My friend Andy mentioned it at dinner the other night and everyone there could instantly think of a way the service could be useful to them. They could call the cable company for you, research restaurants for your vacation, or call all the local party stores for the best price on balloons.

Isn't it such a great idea? Do you think they'd let me just hand over my TeuxDeux list?

(A Fall Harvest) Weekend in Pictures

{nyc pumpkin patch}

{ripe tomatoes}

{genius pumpkin planters}

{seasonal signage}

{$6 dahlias! in love with them}

I spent Saturday at the farmer's market loading up on apples (I recently heard a friend call it "urban apple picking" :) to make a big batch of apple butter. It was a perfect fall day with a chill in the air, leading into the perfect night in with the scent of apple and cinnamon bubbling away on the stove. Recipe soon!

Blanket Binge

It's been consistently cool in NYC this week, and I've found myself looking at cozy throw blankets to start building the collection I've had in mind for awhile. I've love to have a basket full of blanket someday, easy to grab when it's chilly (as it often is in my apartment, I have an open window addiction). These are some of my favorites.

{dwell studio, $165}

{west elm, $29}

{lands end, $209. or, this ll bean one is a little more affordable}

{zara home, both $59.90} 

When Zara Home finally made its American debut earlier this week, the excitement went to my head and I nabbed those last two blankets. Now that I have two new cozy blankets, I think I'll have to watch twice the movies and eat twice the popcorn!

Have a cozy weekend :)

Top photo via Toast UK on Apartment Therapy