Just the smell of my grandmother’s pumpkin cake recipe brings memories of Autumn that make me think about apple orchards, the first day of school, and carving Jack-O’-Lanterns. I have turned her cake into nutritious muffins by adding a mix of golden and dark raisins and chopped nuts. If you bake these for Halloween, you might want to omit the nuts and raisins for young children. The recipe makes a great cake in a 10-inch Turk pan.

Grandma’s Pumpkin Muffins (makes 30)

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can pumpkin puree (16 oz)
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
1 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and pumpkin.
3. Add eggs 1 at a time and whisk well after each.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the mixture.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture. Mix until just blended.
6. Wash and dry raisins and then sprinkle with flour and then shake in sieve to remove excess flour.
7. Stir in raisins and nuts.
8. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.