The most delicious way to start a Saturday morning in October is with loads of coffee and baking! I woke up this morning absolutely needing to bake these pumpkin muffins that I found during my pumpkin bake fest nearly a year ago! The first time I made these, I used all whole wheat flour which added a fantastic texture and substance to these sweet lovelies.
My pantry was fresh out of whole wheat flour this morning, so I tried this recipe with all purpose flour. Never able to make the same recipe twice, I also made a few more tweaks including walnuts, sugar in the raw and vanilla extract. The large texture of sugar in the raw makes the top of these muffins sparkle!
Sweet + Spicy Pumpkin Muffins
[12 standard size muffins]
the goods:
- 12 paper muffin liners, standard size
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour [for a twist: try at least half whole wheat or buckwheat flour]
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 [15 oz.] can organic pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp each of: cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, ginger [can do more/less of any one depending how much you love the fall spices!]**
- 1 cup sugar in the raw
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts [or pecans], optional
+ the finish:
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp sugar in the raw
prep it up:
Arrange oven rack in middle position.
Preheat oven to 350°f.
Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
bake it up:
Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, spices, sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth. Stir in the walnuts [or pecans] until distributed evenly. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined.
Fill muffin cups about ¾ full with prepared batter. Sprinkle the top of each muffin cup batter with cinnamon then spoon-sprinkle sugar in the raw to muffins before baking. Bake until puffed and golden brown for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to a cooling rack.
Enjoy these sweet nuggets warm. They are delish alone or with some butter, apple butter or pumpkin butter! Happy baking!
*This recipe appears to be the original Gourmet mag recipe our healthy mom adapted her recipe from.
**If you’re feeling extra spicy, check out this super cute diy pumpkin pie spice recipe + packaging and make your own spice combo before baking!
chan du jour 
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