1 Dozen Hearty Pumpkin Muffins

When you're a small family like the doctor and myself, you definitely need muffin recipes that only make a dozen.  It's just SO NICE to a) not use up a ton of ingredients at one time, b) not eat whatever type of muffins for days and days and days and days, and c) do a one-bowl, one-pan operation that is faster to bake and faster to clean up!

I adapted this recipe from this website I just found that I will be frequenting!  Looks like the author posts a ton of great stuff! :)  

**Please note that my heart in adapting this recipe was to make them healthy-- I cut down on the sugar, I substituted coconut oil for the butter, didn't use all-purpose flour and subbed whole wheat white plus ground flax seeds (SO GOOD for your heart!).. added more spices for flavor, etc... So when you take a bite of these and they don't knock you over the moon with their sugary-sweetness, don't be disappointed!  Just pat yourself on the back that you made something GOOD for you-- and treat yourself to a second muffin, guilt-free! ;)

And yes, I know it's springtime and 60 degrees Fahrenheit outside... and I should be posting recipes like "Citrus-Marinaded Chicken" or "Asparagus and Pea Shoot Linguine" or springy-sounding things.... But this is one of many posts dedicated to *cleaning out my freezer* from last summer/fall's bountiful harvest.  Today, I wanted to use up some of the AWESOME pumpkin puree I have.... so here goes!

Hearty Pumpkin Muffins (makes 12 regular muffins)

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. (Lately I've been using fancy parchment cupcake liners and they are divine! SO worth the money!)

Ingredients:

1/4 C coconut oil

1/3 C dark brown sugar

3/4 C (heaping!) pumpkin puree

1/4 C milk (can use whatever kind you want! almond, rice, soy, etc. if you want dairy-free!)

1/4 C brewed coffee (could use water OR extra milk if you hate coffee!--- but I don't know how anyone could hate coffee.....?) :)

2 eggs

1 C White Whole Wheat Flour (I just bought some at Trader Joe's and I am IN LOVE!)

1/2 C ground flax seeds

1/2 C oat bran (NOT oatmeal!-- but oat bran!)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. (heaping!) ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

couple shakes of ground nutmeg

couple shakes of ground gloves

Mix oil and sugar.  Carefully beat in pumpkin puree, milk, coffee, and eggs.  In the same bowl, carefully scoop out all the dry ingredients, (just go down the list!), and add them right on top of the wet mixture.  Mix all the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

I used a large cookie/cupcake scoop to scoop out the batter into the 12 muffin cups... but if you don't have on in your kitchen, just use a big spoon or a clean 1/4 cup measuring cup! :)

Before I popped them in the oven, I sprinkled each scoop of batter with some Caramel-Cinnamon Sprinkles my Mom got me.  If you don't have those, you could either 1) leave them plain 2) sprinkle with cinnamon and "sugar in the raw"-type Turbinado Sugar 3) make a streusel topping with flour/butter/brown sugar/cinnamon 4) sprinkle walnuts or pecans... etc.. the possibilities are endless! :) 

Bake at 375*F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean!

ENJOY!  These mighty muffins are PACKED with GREAT ingredients you can really feel good about eating!!!! :)