Fall is finally here, which means that it's pumpkin season! Pumpkin muffins are my all time favorite pumpkin creation. I look forward to them all year. They're moist, sweet, and taste like fall. I love adding chocolate chips to my pumpkin bread. At first I thought it was a strange combination and you might too, but I think you should try it before you knock it. A friend once gave me pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips inside of them to try, and I thought she was crazy. I wasn’t expecting the combination of the two flavors to be so heavenly, but I was mistaken. These muffins are incredibly moist, which is one of the reasons I love it. With each bite, the muffin melts in your mouth and leaves behind a trail of pumpkin and spices.
This recipe makes a small batch of 6 regular sized muffins. I usually prefer making small batches of muffins since my family and I can never finish larger batches and since I'm always baking something, we don't want the muffins to go to waste. These muffins are relatively healthy as in they don't have any refined sugar and have very little oil. Instead of refined sugar, this recipe uses maple syrup and instead of using a ton of oil, the recipe calls for some Greek yogurt and olive oil. The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily make it vegan by subbing out the Greek yogurt for a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Since my family doesn't cook with eggs at home, this recipe uses baking soda and apple cider vinegar as a replacement. Mix-ins in the recipe are optional, but highly recommended. I love adding a little crunch and chocolate to my muffins for texture and flavor.
This recipe is inspired by Cookie and Kate's Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipe.
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
SERVINGS: 6 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
¾ cup flour (90 grams)
¾ cup pumpkin puree (180 grams)
2 tablespoon Greek yogurt (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)
2 tablespoons almond milk (or any other milk of your choice)
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh ginger or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup optional mix-ins (chocolate chips, nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.)
Pinch of salt
RECIPE:
Preheat your oven to 350° F and line a muffin tin with 6 cupcake liners. Combine the pumpkin puree, yogurt, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the baking soda and apple cider vinegar. This is your egg replacement. If you want, omit the baking soda and vinegar and use an egg. The mixture will foam up. Set it aside.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the pumpkin mixture. Then add in your egg replacement. Fold in mix-ins.
Pour the batter into the muffin tins. Sprinkle some more of your mix-ins on top and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350° F.