Club: Baked - Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

I resisted as long as I could, but I am finally admitting that it must be fall. I have had a hard time this year getting "in the mood" for fall. I know it officially became fall on the calendar last weekend and football has been on for several weeks now, but I still am in a summer state of mind. In fact, my husband had to beg me this week to put up our fall decorations. It has started to cool down a little here, and I have been able to venture outside for a couple of outdoor runs. Hoping this will help me get excited for fall and all the seasons coming!

These muffins are our next recipe for Club: Baked chosen by Billie of Chocloate and Chakra. As you may have guessed from above, these muffins were my first venture into anything that could be considered "seasonal cooking," but I think they may have given me the kick I needed into fall cooking and baking. The savory nature of these muffins made them more of a dinner pairing than a breakfast treat in my mind, so I went completely into the fall state of mind and served them with some soup. 

I halved the recipe and ended up with six muffins. One thing to note is that the muffins don't rise very much. I took the advice of some of the other group members and filled the muffin papers pretty full, and it seemed to work really well. While pumpkin and cheddar cheese may not be first two flavors you would choose to pair, we really enjoyed these muffins. The cayenne and black pepper give these muffins a little bit of a kick, and they paired really well with our soup. My husband was even thinking further ahead in the fall season thinking that these would be great for Thanksgiving. We'll see :)

A big thanks to Bille for choosing another great recipe and giving me the kick I needed into fall! Be sure to stop by the Club: Baked page to check out the muffins from the other bakers!