Fall is here and I am thrilled about it! Nothing like the smell of cinnamon, spice, and pumpkin. I love the fall season for many reasons-One, it's my birthday season and two, I have a deep love for fall candles, and fall colors (olive greens, burnt oranges, beige/browns). With the season of giving-I share a healthy pumpkin recipe I find most enjoyable. I enjoy this recipe because they don't taste healthy. Have your family and friends taste these, they wouldn't know the difference. Find the joy in the fall season by partaking in good treats like these.
Ingredients:
⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
½ cup maple syrup or honey
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup pumpkin purée
¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or cloves)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour**
⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
Optional: 2 teaspoons turbinado (raw) sugar for a sweet crunch
Now to the good part-taste testing
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups of your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup or honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs, and beat well. Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt.
Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins***, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with about a tablespoon of oats, followed by a light sprinkle of raw sugar and/or pumpkin spice blend if you’d like. Bake muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. These muffins are delicate until they cool down. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan.
These muffins taste even better after they have rested for a couple of hours! They’ll keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months (just defrost individual muffins as needed).
These pumpkin muffins are as light, fluffy, and delicious. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Today's recipe and photo credit belong to cookieandkate.com .
