Friday, November 13, 2009

Cleo Coyle's Dunkin' Pumpkin Muffin Tops



Just this week the towering old oak outside my Queens row house window turned from summer green to the burnished orange of "finally" fall. I took this photo as a tribute to our Iron Chef secret ingredient (pumpkin!) and to my cat Nemo, one of my beautiful New York strays.

Nemo and the pumpkin

BTW: If you're wondering what Nemo is up to, he is happily watching leaves randomly flutter from branch to earth. (No worries for Nemo. Cats don't know how to use rakes.)









And now for my Iron Chef 

pumpkin recipe....



Cleo Coyle's Dunkin'
Pumpkin Muffin Tops

Servings: about 12 muffin tops

Recipe updated in a more recent post.





FOR THE UPDATED 

RECIPE, CLICK HERE.






For more of my recipes or to find out more about the books in my Coffeehouse Mystery series, click this link to my virtual home at



Holiday Grind Now a National Bestseller!

My most recent Coffeehouse Mystery just hit #6 on on Bookscan's National Hardcover Mystery Bestseller List, and....

#9 on Barnes and Noble's Hardcover
Mystery List for the Chain Nationwide!!


WOOT!
Come help me celebrate
at my *virtual* home, and...




Eat with joy!



~ Cleo Coyle, author of 


To get more of my recipes,
enter to win free coffee, or
learn about my books,
including my bestselling
Haunted Bookshop series,
visit my online coffeehouse:





The Coffeehouse Mysteries are national bestselling
culinary mysteries set in a landmark Greenwich Village 
coffeehouse, and each of the ten titles includes the 
added bonus of recipes. 

 


The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure


Book #1 of 

The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries
, which Cleo writes
under the name Alice Kimberly
To learn more, click here.

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations to you on "Holiday Grind's" success, Cleo! We are so proud of you!

    This recipe sounds really good. I think I'm going to have to stock up on some pumpkin pie spice!

    Riley/Elizabeth

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  2. A nice change from pancakes. Congratulations on the success of "Holiday Grind." It's a great book.

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  3. WOOT, back at you! Way to GRIND, Cleo. I'm so
    thrilled for you and the success of your book!

    Now I just happen to have a half can of pumpkin left from my coffee can bread and two sick hooligans home today, so pumpkin muffin tops it is...have a great weekend, everyone!

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  4. Cleo, congratulations on the success of Holiday Grind! I'm thrilled for you!

    I never would have thought of Pumpkin Muffin Tops. What a great idea. So many muffins are just too big today. These look just about right with a cup of coffee.

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  5. Elizabeth/Riley - Thank you for the good wishes! And if we were neighbors, I'd be handing you one of the TWO unopened containers of pumpkin pie spice now sitting on my spice rack! Yeah, I had one of those moments at the grocery where I was SURE I needed it, got home, and realized, woops, no I didn't. Now I'm all set to make pumpkin pie spiced muffins and muffin tops for the entire winter! LOL!

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  6. Mason - Thank you! And thank you especially for your wonderful, early review of Holiday Grind.

    Everyone - Mason's reviews are a joy to read and she loves to review mysteries. Be sure to check out her blog "Thoughts in Progress," which she just recently launched. I was honored that she chose Holiday Grind as the subject of her first posted review! Click here to read it.

    Cheers, Mason, thanks for stopping by!
    ~Cleo

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  7. Jenn - Aww, thank you girl! Much appreciated.

    And I'm laughing because I have extra pumpkin, too, and I'm going to make your excellent Coffee Can Pumpkin Bread. (You KNOW I'm impressed with the "coffee" can! LOL!)

    Have a great weekend,
    ~Cleo

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  8. Krista - Thank you so much for your lovely note. You're the best!

    And you are right on the money with your point about the muffin tops versus too-big muffins. In fact, I got this idea from a local coffee shop. Every fall they carry pumpkin muffin tops and I found myself enjoying a quick muffin top instead of the huge muffin. Nice alternative for a lighter coffee-break snack.

    Cheers and I'm looking forward to your post tomorrow! Turkey Talk part one!! Thanksgiving here we come!

    ~Cleo
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  9. These sound so yummy and easy! I always get stuck at the stove, flipping pancakes, while the rest of my family eats. These sound like a great cure to the pancake maker blues!

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  10. Janel - LOL - on the pancake-maker blues! Be sure to dust these babies with powdered sugar for anyone who has a major sweet tooth in your house. The amount of powdered sugar required for even a generous dusting is still far less in calories than the typical amount of maple syrup some folks use to drench their pancakes and waffles!

    Thanks for dropping by Janel -- and thanks especially for your great Iron Chef suggestions! Keep 'em coming because our next Iron Chef week is coming up in mid-December! And they'll be a week in January, too!

    ~Cleo

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  11. Thanks Cleo for the kind words. I hope everyone will drop by and check out my blog. Any suggestions or advice on it would be greatly appreciated. I do enjoy reading, especially mysteries. Holiday Grind was a good book and I've always enjoyed the Coffeehouse Mystery series. The only thing missing with a cup of coffee and a good mystery would be a piece of chocolate candy.

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  12. that looks wonderful! I love the idea of pumpkin muffin tops, muffin tops are the best part of the muffin!

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  13. Congrats on Holiday Grinds! Pumpkin muffin tops are a great idea. Thanks for the breakdown on the pumpkin pie spice. I won't need to be purchasing that any longer.

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  14. I agree! Muffin tops are the best part! Pumpkin is also delicious!

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  15. Congratulations on the book success and what a celebration food! I think these might go equally well with a glass of champagne.

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  16. This is a good alternative to pancakes, good, will certainly try this.

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  17. OMG!!! I've been stuck in your mystery lover blogs for the past half hour! When I had time to read I was a lover of mysteries - I tore through them - and I'm familiar with all of your authors. I'm feeling truly homesick and lonely for a good mystery right now!

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