• 2 C. flour
• 3/4 C. packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 C. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 C. butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 C. buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 Tbs. molasses
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 C. coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 3/4 C. chopped dates (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease twelve muffin cups. In a large bowl, stir together first 9 ingredients. In another bowl, stir together pumpkin, butter, buttermilk, eggs, molasses and vanilla until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add pumpkin mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in pecans and dates.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack.