POPPERS - PUMPKIN & BANANA NUT

I don't know about you but I can eat pumpkin any time of the year. It is a shame that we have delegated certain foods as seasonal. I guess that probably started when you ate fresh foods and they were only available at certain times of the year. Now with canning, we can usually buy foods year-round in the stores. There are some food though that you do just find seasonally in the the store.

Anyway, this recipe was submitted by Clever Housewife in the Weekly Pinterest Challenge. I had printed it off and when I needed something to make for my husband to take to Fort Leavenworth yesterday, I found it with a few other recipes I had printed and decided it would be perfect for him to take to share.  

They were so easy to make and didn't disappoint us when my husband and I decided to try them out while they were still warm. 

My husband told me everyone really liked them in the tax office. He said there were only 4 remaining when he left. Tonight I am going to try them using bananas and see how they turn out. Will update and let you know. UPDATE!!  See below. 

PUMPKIN POPPERS

1-3/4     cups all-purpose flour
2            teaspoons baking powder
1/2         teaspoon salt
1/2         teaspoon cinnamon
1/2         teaspoon nutmeg
1/2         teaspoon allspice
1/8         teaspoon cloves
1/3         cup canola oil
1/2         cup brown sugar
1             egg
1             teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4        cup pumpkin (fresh or canned, but not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2         cup skim milk

For coating:

1             stick of margarine (I had leftovers so 1/3 cup would probably work)
2/3        cup sugar (once again I had leftovers)
2            tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Recipe will make 24 mini muffins (poppers)

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a bowl and whisk til combined.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk with a whisk.

Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.

Using a cookie scoop, fill the mini muffin tins until almost full. (I filled each cup with 1 scoop of batter and then went back and filled each with 1/2 scoop. This worked out perfectly.)



Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.


While poppers are baking, prepare the ingredients for the coating. Melt the margarine.  

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.

Let the poppers cool for a minute or two before 

rolling them in the margarine

and then in the cinnamon sugar

Cool on a wire rack.








Coating the poppers won't be messy.....use one hand for dropping the popper in the margarine and rolling it around to coat it...

then drop it in the bowl of cinnamon sugar and roll it around with the other hand.

BANANA NUT POPPERS:

I made the poppers again tonight but used banana instead of pumpkin. To make them follow the recipe above except increase the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon, omit the allspice and cloves, use 3/4 cup of mashed bananas and add 1/3 cup pecans, chopped finely. Cook for 12 minutes. Everything else for the recipe is the same. Hope this isn't confusing. Let me know if it is, I will rewrite the whole recipe.