Now that the autumn leaves have fallen and students are beginning to long for the holiday break, who could resist a warm, cozy muffin that tastes like the spice of fall and the sweetness of the holidays mixed into one? In order to find the most delicious muffin of the season, Sally Anderson (‘25) and other anonymous MHS freshmen, as well as one junior, taste-tested various seasonal muffins from local bakeries and cafés.

Gluten Free Muffins:
Bradley’s Desserts and Catering, Larchmont, Gluten-Free Pumpkin, $3.95:
Bradley’s muffins were gluten-free, with a decorative sunflower seed topping. The sunflower seeds added a nice and crunchy taste to these delicious pumpkin-flavored muffins. However, they were also small and dry, with a coarse texture (probably because they lacked gluten). Bradley’s muffins provide a welcome allergy-sensitive alternative to anybody who is gluten-free and is craving a pumpkin baked good.
Boiano Bakery, Mamaroneck, Gluten-Sensitive Pumpkin Walnut, $3.75:
These pumpkin walnut muffins were delicious, with a very rich and strong nut flavor. The texture of these muffins was nice and moist, with tasty nuts incorporated into the batter. As an extra plus, these muffins were gluten-free, providing delectable muffins for anybody with gluten intolerance. However, they were very nutty, so somebody who has a walnut allergy or dislikes walnuts would not like the taste of these muffins.

Local Muffins with Gluten:
Sunshine Coffee Roasters, Larchmont, Cinnamon Swirl, $3.75:
This Cinnamon swirl muffin, nicknamed “the big one” by one taste-tester, is very large with the perfect winter dash of cinnamon. Tasting very similar to a Danish pastry, the sweet frosting on this muffin is the best part. However, despite the tastiness of this muffin, the body of the muffin could have been richer and was slightly too dry.

Chain Business Muffins:
Starbucks, Pumpkin Cream Cheese, $3.25:
The Starbucks muffin was unique because it included cream cheese, unlike the other muffins. The cream cheese contrasted well with the rich pumpkin spice flavor. This muffin was very moist with a very enjoyable, noticeable pumpkin taste.
Dunkin’, Pumpkin, $2.59:
This year, although it was a tough decision, the most delicious seasonal muffin locally was the Dunkin’ pumpkin muffin! This “satisfyingly delicious” muffin, the “size of a softball”, is an easy fix for someone craving flavor. In addition to the pumpkin taste of the body of the muffin, the frosting was also pumpkin-flavored! One MHS freshman noted that the Dunkin’ muffin was “sweet and fluffy but lacking in depth of flavor,” while another freshman commented that “the pumpkin flavor is drowned out by the overall sweetness of the muffin”. Overall, this muffin was very nice, light, and fluffy, although depending on the diner it could be slightly too sweet.

Overall commentary:
Between the two gluten-free muffins, Boiano’s wins with a moister and richer flavor than Bradley’s pumpkin muffins. The Sunshine Coffee Roasters’ muffin was different from the rest because it contained cinnamon and was neither a gluten-free muffin nor a muffin sold by a chain business. Therefore, this terrific cinnamon swirl muffin was considered less festive than the others because although it contained cinnamon, a common holiday spice, it was not pumpkin flavored like the others. However, anybody who prefers cinnamon to pumpkin flavoring would favor these muffins. Out of the two chain business muffins, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin was phenomenal, but the Dunkin’ muffin was larger with a more fluffy texture.
All of these muffin sellers are local in Mamaroneck or Larchmont, so go ahead and try these tasty treats out, or search for a muffin that tops these this holiday season!