Pumpkin Cheddar Rosemary Muffins

It doesn't have to be fall to throw some pumpkin flavor into the kitchen...

Mmmmmmm

When I first tried these muffins, I swear I didn't breath for at least 5 minutes. I was just stuffing my face with as many of these golden pumpkin nuggets of deliciousness as I could.

I've been  feeling especially orange squash-deprived as of late. It seems that every year around this time I'm in the same boat, lamenting my love for all things pumpkin and how the flavor that is so plentiful around Halloween has all but vanished from store shelves and Starbucks alike. I usually try and start up a "Bring Back The Pumpkin" campaign, bombarding my friends and family with every pumpkin recipe I can get my hands on, while they groan and tell me to give it up until the leaves start to fall again.

Lucky for them, there weren't any leftover to inconvenience them with ;)

Savory muffins have been one of those recent ventures I've gone on, and man am I glad I started with these. I've been on a rosemary kick the past couple of weeks so I decided to throw some in with the batter and the flavor was great!! I also cut my cheese up into tiny chunks instead of shredding it, so our muffins were scattered with little gooey cheese craters. Ah-may-zing. We thought the black pepper taste was a little overwhelming in the first batch, so we reduced it and added a bit more cayenne and thought they turned out better.

We loved  breaking these babies open while they were still warm and spreading them with sour cream. A smear of butter is great too of course ;)

Always remember with this and any muffin batter, to stir until *just* combined. Over-mixing muffin batter will result in your muffins deflating. Lumpy batter = delicious and puffy muffins.

Pumpkin Cheddar Rosemary Muffins

- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
- 2 cups flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons crushed rosemary
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:
Line a 12 count muffin pan with liners, set aside. In medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin and sour cream. Add eggs and butter until combined. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, rosemary and brown sugar. Add pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture until *just* combined. Stir in 1 and 1/2 cups cheese. Divide batter among muffin tins and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

(adapted from Take A Megabite)