trick or treats...

So I know that around this time of year in almost every restaurant, cafe and bakery there will be pumpkin inspired recipes on every menu and blackboard. I like pumpkin, but there's only so much pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie that one can eat, so I went in search of a pumpkin recipe that I hadn't tried or even heard of before and I think I came up with a real gem.

It's fair to say I'm a bit of a chocoholic, so this one satisfies both my chocolate desires while also using the delicious pumpkin that is up for grabs everywhere right now.

Pumpkin and Nutella muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 a teaspoon of salt
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1/2 a cup of granulated sugar
1/2 a cup of brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (not essence)
nutella, yum, if you're like me you will use a lot.

1. Preheat the oven to 190°/ 350°F/ Gas mark 4.
2. Line a muffin tray with liners or if your using a silicone muffin tray there is no need to use the liners.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt together
4. In large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.
5. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk until there are no lumps.
6. Fill the muffin trays until they are 3/4 full.
7. Top each muffin with about 1 teaspoon of Nutella and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter. If the nutella is quite hard pop the jar in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it a little. If like me you love nutella then why not pop some nutella into the middle of each muffin too before filling the muffin tray.
8. Bake muffins for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Serve warm but do be careful as the nutella will be hot after cooking so be sure to allow enough cooling time.

These are delicious served with hot chocolate too. Mmm very Autumnal.

Enjoy.

choco banana toasties...

I love toasties. They are always a massive winner with me. I remember when we were young and I'd come home from horse-riding and it would be so cold in the winter and toasties would always hit the spot and warm my fingers too.

I'm a sucker for a ham, cheese and mushroom toasty as I love mushrooms with everything. Sometimes it's a struggle for me not eat them all raw before I even manage to cook them.

I also love any toasty with leftover turkey or chicken, add some cheese and onion, maybe a few mushys too. mmmmm yummy. Toasties are such a great way to use up all those odds and ends in the fridge too which is another one of my favourite things to do. Clean out the fridge and slap it all between two slices of bread. Delicious.

I've tried a variety of toasty combinations but all were savoury until I discovered this little gem. Great as a breakfast toasty, or a kind of healthy snack too.

Choco Banana Toasties

Ingredients:
4 slices of bread
1 Banana, cut into slices
Nutella

This one probably doesnt need any instructions but here we go, make a banana and nutella sandwich and toast until golden and gooey. Leave to cool for a moment or so as the nutella can get very hot and you don't want a burnt mouth. Nothing worse.

Cut up and enjoy. Yummy. Perfect with a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winters night snuggled up watching a movie.