pumpkin spice muffins with whipped maple cardamom butter

hello, friends! in the redundant echo chamber that is 2020, this week feels long and slow and chaotic and still and a lot and a little of everything in between. i’ve been trying to do a few things to make it feel… less, of all that. sometimes i’ll write down 3 things i want to accomplish, feel, or do that day. sometimes i’ll make grand to-do lists so that i at least go through the motions of being productive (even when the thing on the list is ‘wash hair’ because obviously it’s great to physically check the box even if it’s something i will clearly do every week unless something goes really awry.) sometimes everything feels completely fine, and i’ve got space in my head to learn, handle the news, be crushed and buoyed but more or less okay with everything going on, have cathartic conversations, move my body, write love letters, and grow. there are days when all i obligate myself to is ‘how will i love myself today.’ this is important because it’s the simplest: pick a thing, or two or three things, that are just for you. for me, it’s usually a walk, a long, super-scalding shower, reading a few chapters with my phone flung far across the room, muffins just because. it’s joy - your joy! it’s you rooting for you to be your brightest, even if it’s just in those moments and even if no one else will see it.

let me finish your thought for you, and no, pumpkin spice muffins will not fill a massive void that a pandemic, job insecurity, the patriarchy, will i get to have too many once-cold beers in a crowded, sort of gross bar ever again and by too many i do mean 3 because i’m in my thirties now? not hugging your friends, the literal state of the union, and wondering if we’ll ever get to use our passports again created, but they will make your day more joyful and more delicious.

a few notes about these muffins before we start:
- i know the mix of white and almond flour seems counterintuitive, but it works. the softness, the fluff! everything is happening here. i did not try this with all almond flour, and while it might work ok, i 100% promise your muffins will not be as pillowy, and they might in fact become gummy.
- don’t sleep on the butter!!! personally would like to lather my whole life in it, honestly.
- these will keep for 5ish days, but i have full faith that you can finish the pan before then.

pumpkin spice muffins with whipped maple cardamom butter
makes: 12 muffins
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 22-25 minutes

for the muffins:
3 eggs
2 small, overripe bananas
1c pumpkin puree
1c coconut sugar
1/4c olive oil
1/4c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2tbsp maple syrup
1tsp vanilla extract
2c white flour
1/2c almond flour
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2tsp cinnamon
1tsp ginger
1tsp nutmeg
1/2tsp allspice
1/2tsp cardamom
1/2tsp salt

for the butter:
1/4c good quality butter
1tbsp maple syrup
1/2tsp cardamom
pinch of salt

preheat the oven to 350.
whisk the eggs with the bananas. then, add in the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk again until smooth.

mix the dry ingredients, then add to the wet. gently whisk until no dry spots remain, then pour batter into a prepared muffin tin. bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. the muffins will be fluffy on top and soft in the center.

while the muffs bake, whisk the ingredients for the butter. add more maple if you’d like it sweeter, add more cardamom if you’d like it to have a little more bite.