Fabled Creations: I’ve often been told that Panera’s muffin tops are obscenely popular whenever I inquire about the always empty dish of them in the bakery window when I stop by for a morning snack.  Admittedly, I was a bit curious as to why they didn’t just make more of them in anticipation, but just like they don’t come over to my house to tell me what I should write about…
The Proof is in the Muffin Top: Or is it?  Maybe it’s because I ate it later on in the day instead of right then and there fresh out of the case like some sort of crazed muffin top fanatic, but … I wasn’t really all that impressed. It didn’t have nearly the pumpkin flavor that it’s full-sized papa boasted when I got a bite of him last year, and more so it tasted kind of dry, too.
Oh, The Oil!: I don’t want to consider this an excuse for said dryness, but I did notice – hell, you can even see some spots in the picture – that the bag itself managed to absorb a ton of oil out of this thing throughout the day!  I’ve noticed this even more prominently with their cookies, too, which I absolutely love even though they’re something like 450 calories a piece … maybe the oil is actually a trademark for the Panera Bread Co. or something…
Final Answer: If I had my choice to do it again, I’d just get a regular muffin, instead … unless Panera wants to try its hand at making pumpkin cookies! Now that might be interesting…

P.S. Maybe it’s just a guy thing, but “Muffie” is a ridiculous name for any product that you’re attempting to sell to actual people for actual, non-imaginary money.  I couldn’t bring myself to say it to the guy at the register, and I was barely able to type it for the title of this post.  Unless your main clientele is Winnie the Pooh, just calling them “Muffin Tops” would be perfectly fine!

Important Photo Note: The bite wasn’t in the muffin when I originally purchased it – give the folks at Panera a little more credit than that!  I just thought that this picture might be a little more worthwhile because, well, let’s not kid ourselves … this muffin wasn’t exactly as aesthetically pleasing as that muffin…
Shameless Self-Promotion: …and nowhere nearly as cool as this muffin!
Actual Muffin Promotion: As the picture hints, Panera’s muffin has a very rich pumpkin flavor, however unlike Dunkin’s variety, it wasn’t nearly as sweet or cupcake-like.  Granted, it was still a perfectly acceptable breakfast food, however if you’re looking for more dessert-oriented sustenance in the early morning hours, you might be better off stopping by the Double-D instead.