These gently spiced mango muffins are a great healthy breakfast treat, or toast them up with some butter and a cup of tea for a mid-week snack.

I had picked up a package of pre-sliced mango from our local grocery store thinking they would be great for snacking, but lo and behold they were not quite ripe enough to make that a particularly enjoyable experience. Rather than let them languish in the back of the fridge, I decided to put them to use in some muffins. Given a whir in the food processor, the mango was then able to lend its flavor and moisture nicely to these muffins.

I used half whole wheat flour to boost their wholesome factor and used only a scant amount of sugar. (If you love a sweet muffin, by all means add another quarter cup of sugar.) The spice came from a tin of Savour This Kitchen's Gypsy spice blend which is an exotic mix of cinnamon, cardamom, clove, anise, and more. Savour This Kitchen has four different spice blends that I love and use all the time, and you can find them here. But I have also suggested alternate pantry-friendly spices in the ingredients below.

Spiced Mango Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 mango, peeled then sliced up (or about a cup of mango slices, like the pre-cut variety from the grocery store)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar (or more if you like a sweeter muffin)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Savour This Kitchen Gypsy spice blend (or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (or another neutral oil)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling over the tops

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and either grease a standard muffin tin or use paper liners.
2. Place mango slices into a food processor and pulse 10 or so times until it is in fine pieces but not a puree. Set aside.
3. Mix together both flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. In another bowl (or a large measuring cup, as is my preference), beat together the milk, egg, and oil. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, until everything is just moistened (don't over beat.) Finally, fold the mango in until evenly distributed. The batter will not be smooth, and it will be thick. If you feel it is too thick, you can add a little more milk.
4. Fill the muffin tins so that each cup is about two-thirds full. Sprinkle each muffin with some turbinado sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until they are just browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. These are best served warm with a slathering of butter, as are most things.

Adapted from the basic muffin recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Just when you thought it would never come, fall has finally arrived. Crisp air, crackling leaves, and the evening smell of wood-burning fireplaces. Here is a perfect boozy drink to serve up after a trip to the pumpkin patch: apple cider, rye whiskey, and ginger liqueur.