Over the weekend, one of my friends told me about a baked good called a ‘pumpkin popper.’ At first I was skeptical. What exactly is a ‘pumpkin popper?’  A pumpkin popper is a pumpkin spice flavored muffin that is covered in a cinnamon sugar coating. They’re easy to make and delicious anytime of the day. I made them for a dessert, but they’re good for a quick breakfast or snack. Although they only take about 30 minutes to make, the instructions are a little complex, so follow the instructions closely for the perfect fall treat. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the popper: 

• 3/4 of a cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/3 of a cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 of a cup of brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 of a cup of milk
• 3/4 of a cup of pumpkin

Ingredients for coating: 

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted (I only used 1/4 of a stick of butter, but the actual recipe calls for an entire stick. How much butter you use is completely up to you)
• 2/3 of a cup of sugar
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon

Directions: 

• First of all, keep the ingredients for the coating and the ingredients for the poppers in a separate bowl.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray the muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray (I used Pam).
• Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a bowl and whisk until they all combine.
• In another bowl (yes, you’ll need three bowls) mix oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk. Pour in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Fill the muffin tins until 3/4 of the way full and bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Take the muffins out of the oven and let cool. While they cool, melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. After the poppers are cooled, lightly coat them in butter (if you have a cooking brush, that’s a good way to coat them, but I just rolled them around in butter.) Then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Viola!