Buttermilk Sweet Potato Muffins

The beginning of fall is right around the corner, and I'm definitely looking forward to the colorful leaves, new sweaters, and seasonal flavors. Recipes featuring apples, pumpkins, acorn and butternut squash are popping up all over the place and I couldn't be happier about this. As the leaves are still green and my summer wardrobe is still in circulation, though, I can't quite justify using those recipes just yet. For now, I'll just enjoy a buttermilk sweet potato muffin or two. Brown sugar, honey, and a hint of cinnamon and spice- they offer a little fall flavor without being too heavy. That's one of the great things about baking with sweet potatoes. The finished product is moist and light! Plus, when you have an extra baked sweet potato leftover from dinner, you can scoop out the inside, puree it up, and use it for muffins the next day.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 stick butter

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 Tbs. honey

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sweet potato puree

3/4 cup raisins or chopped pecans, optional (I like these plain though!)

Demerera sugar and a little cinnamon, for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Line muffin pans with foil or paper liners and spray lightly.

3. Combine all the dry ingredients- flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.

4. Melt the butter in a stainless saucepan over medium heat.

5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, honey, and vanilla.

6. Continue whisking while streaming in the butter.

7. Stir in the sweet potato puree.

8. Add the dry ingredients and stir until only just combined. Overstirring will result in a tough muffin!

9. Fold in additional ingredients (raisins or pecans), if desired.

10. Use an ice cream scoop to generously portion batter into liners.

11. Combine a few tablespoons of demerara sugar with a half teaspoon or so of cinnamon. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with this mixture.

12. Bake in a preheated oven until muffins are golden and a tester inserted into a muffin comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes.

Variation (Pumpkin Muffins): Swap out the sweet potato for pumpkin puree, the honey for molasses, and use a teaspoon of cinnamon along with the pumpkin pie spice.