Once upon a time, in the city of Providence, there was a neighborhood coffee shop called The Edge. It lived in a part of the city called Wayland Square, a hip little spot about a mile from downtown that is a mix of residential properties and locally-owned small businesses. The Edge was always packed with loyal patrons. You could expect to see a local running group there after their early morning runs, students camped out behind laptops, families out for a Saturday morning breakfast treat, retired folks enjoying their morning newspaper, etc. They had delicious fruit smoothies, breakfast sandwiches piled with delicious ingredients, and GIANT muffins that kept you coming back for more.

Heather and I inhabited the place often. She used to have regular “muffin dates” there with her grad school friend, Liz. It was the perfect distance from our home for a nice morning walk – which was rewarded with a beautiful and delicious latte.

I did my fair share of grad school studying there and, needing a break, often perused the community board. That is actually how we discovered our wedding photographer, the one and only, Ryan T. Conaty. It seemed only fitting that we also have our first meeting with Ryan there, to take a look at his impressive, bright orange portfolio.

I think you know where this is going…

One day, we were driving through Wayland Square and noticed that The Edge had closed early for the day (or so we thought). The next time I strolled down there to crack open my theology books, the lights were out and there was a sign on the door announcing that, due to personal/family issues, The Edge was closed. The owner’s parting gift? A lovely thank you note and their vegan pumpkin muffin recipe, taped to the door. I stood there, mourned the loss, and then promptly snapped a photo. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to bake it (1.5 years), but here it is, for your enjoyment!

The Edge’s Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I upped this to about 1/2 Tbs)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp allspice (I used Penzeys baking spice)
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cup soy milk (I used almond)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 TBS molasses (I used maple syrup)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray or prepare liners
3. Sift together dry ingredients
4. Mix wet ingredients in a bowl with hand mixer (or standing mixer; or with a whisk and some elbow grease)
5. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix thoroughly
6. Pour into muffin pan and bake for about 30 minutes; adjust according to the size of your pan

I used a standard 12 muffin pan and wound up with enough extra for two mini loaves. I drizzled some of them with leftover orange glaze. The muffins were ready in about 30, the loaves stayed in for another 10 minutes or so.

I wound up making these twice in one week, because something this good should be shared!

Enjoy!