So... you may or may not have noticed that I have NOT blogged anything for a quite a long time. I have a really, really good excuse, I promise. Uh...
*crickets chirping*
I mean, being kidnapped by aliens makes it REALLY hard to write blog posts and make recipes.... you don't believe that I was kidnapped by aliens? Well fine then. You were right, I wasn't kidnapped by aliens.
However, in my defense I would like to say that balancing 3 jobs and taking 18 units of classes is hard and takes time away from things I want to do, like write super cute blog posts and share tasty recipes.
Right now I am nearly at the end of Fall Quarter, and I cannot believe how much stuff I still need to do. May I just say that grading essays is a BUMMER? I'm an IA (Instructional Assistant) for an Introduction to Psychology course, and I have over twenty lovely, lovely students. I believe they are bright young individuals who will move on to do great things. I'm sure that none of them intended to write essays that would make me lose hope in humanity, but alas, a few of them did. (Dear students, there is something called a "textbook." It worries me that it is so late in the quarter, and so many of have failed to incorporate this wondrous object into your lives.) SIGH.
I made super-duper delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins a while ago, and forgot to post it. I also didn't take any photos (Boo! Alina how could you?!) So I have instead included a picture of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from All Recipes, which look nearly identical to the muffins I made. Let's be real, muffins are muffins.
I brought these goodies to my Section of students during the first week of October and they gobbled 'em up. I strongly believe that these muffins are the reason that my students like me so much. A couple of weeks ago I asked them to give anonymous feedback regarding my teaching style, and nearly all of them mentioned my "fun and energetic personality." While I do think I am fun and energetic, I have no illusions about the power that food has over hungry eighteen year olds.
I mean, do you think that THIS FACE would inspire so much affection without the help of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins? Oh please, as if. (Beeeteedubs, isn't my giant plush reproduction of a neuron - aka a brain cell - adorable? Look at it. I spent a lot of precious class-time explaining how neurons worked to my students...)
If you need to win the love of anyone -- your friends, your boss, or even your Psychology students... I promise that these muffins will do the trick :) Enjooooy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
(Makes approximately a dozen - Recipe adapted from All-Recipes)
1/4 Cup white sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 Cup canned pumpkin (PLAIN pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling!)
1/4 Cup water
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp all-spice/pumpkin-pie spice (may add more or less to suit your personal preference)
3/4 Cup mini-chocolate chips (I like mini-chocolate chips because they do not sink to the bottom of the muffins and ensure that every single bite is chocolate-y. If you want to use regular chocolate chips, just make sure that you get them slightly wet and coat them with flour to prevent sinking.)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Prepare your muffin pan and line it with your paper liners. (Or you can grease and flour your pan, whatever floats your boat.)
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together your sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the pumpkin and water to this liquidy pulp.
3. In a separate (large) bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin-pie spice.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture in the large bowl. Mix it up like you mean business. Add in your chocolate chips and try not to drool.
6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in your preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
I hope y'all try this recipe out! It's so easy and yummy. One of my friends said that these were literally the best things I've ever made. That's a pretty strong compliment considering I make some pretty bomb desserts. Anyway, I promise I'll try to post more. I know I've been really bad about that lately...
