Teacher's favorite

The air is cooling down, and we've hit the month of September. For 17 years that meant going back to school for me. Now, the only school shopping I do is looking for a new ruffly white button up for the nine-to-five, and instead of waiting for the yellow bus to come, I'm waiting behind a cloud of exhaust at the Starbucks drive-thru window.

However, I did learn something this weekend. A few things actually... on my skateboard. I now have a little more fun rolling around thanks to friend Ian Milner for being the best teacher I've come across for learning things on the oblong piece of wood.

I felt the need to say thanks. What do teachers like? Apples. What is a stereotypical autum food? Pumpkin. Ian is a sweetheart for getting excited with me over a frontside grind on a three foot miniramp. That calls for sugar. Ian likes breakfast, but doesn't usually wake up in time to call it that. Well here's the thank you I came up with. I think pretty much any teacher would like this. Even if they can't stand on a skateboard to save their lives.

Sift together 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 tablespoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt


In another bowl mix together 2 eggs, 1 cup of canned pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup vegetable oil


Pour wet mixture into dry and stir until even


Dice up two cups of fresh granny smith apples


Fold apples into wet mixture until even


In another bowl mix together 2 tablespoons of flour, 1/4 cup of white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 4 teaspoons of cold small chunks of margarine


Now, this is suppose to be a muffin recipe. Pour the mixture into a muffin pan if you're feeling like going along with the norm. If your teacher is like Ian, and eating these treats after noontime doesn't seem right to have them be muffins, drop small globs of the mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Whether you make the muffins, or the cookies, sprinkle the cinnamon mixture ontop of each treat. It may be too sweet for muffins, but for the cookies, try topping it off with a few white chocolate chips.


Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for the muffins and 10 minutes for the cookies.

While waiting for the apple-pumpkin-sweet-treats to rise and firm, watch a quick video of Ian skating. He's in the black tee-shirt.



You should end up with a bunch of back to school, teacher inspired treats that look something like the sort...