I think a number of us in the Baked Sunday Mornings were skeptical about these muffins. I know I was. Pumpkin muffins, okay. But with cheddar and cayenne? Not so sure. But I’ve baked enough out of Baked Explorations to know that I should just trust in the recipe and go for it. So I did. And I’m so glad – these muffins are amazing!

The authors suggest using a sharp, raw milk cheddar cheese so that’s what I did. I agree that the sharper the better in this case. The muffins are really simple to make, no mixer needed. I added pumpkin seeds to the top and not only do they taste great, the muffins are really attractive. They’re listed under the breakfast section, but they’re savory, so they go great with dinner too (particularly delicious with chili). To get the recipe and see the other entries from this week’s Baked Sunday Mornings head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings.

• Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins (Baked Explorations, p. 25)