Pumpkin Spice Muffins
No guys, I’m not done with pumpkin yet. Sorry I’m not sorry.
See, the thing is that I’ve roasted like four sugar pumpkins in the past two weeks… and do you know how much pumpkin puree that is?! A lot. Enough that I’ve now made pumpkin pie, pumpkin pasta sauce, white bean and pumpkin chicken chili, pumpkin spice latte waffles, pumpkin risotto, and pumpkin muffins (twice), and STILL have some leftover. Is it weird that I’m not bothered by this?
I’m not going to make any crazy promises, but I’ll try and lay off the pumpkin recipes for at least a couple of months. I mean, what’s better than a random mid-winter pumpkin binge?
…no? you don’t agree? crap.
Now, I didn’t want to scare you off by giving away in the title that these are whole wheat muffins… but it’s true. They are in fact 100% whole wheat — and I loved every last morsel of them. Honestly, I was hesitant to try them at first, fearing they’d be too dry or even a little bland as a result of using only whole wheat flour. But I obviously learned that I was wrong and should never doubt Jenna — especially since she hasn’t steered me wrong with a recipe yet!
As you guys may or may not know, I like to substitute whole wheat flours and alternatives to refined sugar in most of the recipes I make; this one is no exception. Instead of using only brown sugar as Jenna’s recipe calls for, I substituted half for coconut sugar. What the heck is coconut sugar, you ask?! welp, I’ll tell you!
Coconut sugar [also known as coconut palm sugar] comes from the liquid sap gathered from a coconut tree; it is heated through until most of its liquid has evaporated and crystals have formed, giving you ‘sugar’. One cool thing about coconut sugar is that it has a lower glycemic index than white sugar, meaning it won’t cause your blood sugar levels to spike and crash. However, don’t be completely fooled by this fancy schmancy sugar substitute: it still has almost as many carbs and calories as regular sugar, so always use it in moderation.
Anddd that’s your nutrition lesson for the day (I use the term ‘nutrition’ lightly, of course). Obviously, if you don’t have access to coconut flour or would prefer to use something a little more ‘normal’, you can always substitute brown or white sugar instead. Also, for those of you who are completely opposed to the whole wheat flour thing — I haven’t tried making these muffins with all-purpose flour yet, so I can’t speak to how that would change the consistency and/or flavor. However, if you don’t feel like going healthy with this one and choose to use all-purpose flour instead, let me know how it turns out!
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (see Notes for gluten-free options)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup lukewarm water
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F; either spray your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and spices. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugars, canola oil, pumpkin and water. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just combined.
- Fill the muffin tins about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
If preferred, brown sugar can be used in place of coconut sugar. And, as always, feel free to mix in any add-ins before pouring the batter into the muffins tins, such as chocolate chips, nuts, raisins or cranberries.
Recipe From: Eat Live Run | Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Muffins
These muffins are seriously delicious and pumpkin-y in all the right ways. Just the right amount of spice makes for the perfect start to any chilly morning.
So what are you waiting for?! Go ahead and make them already! I mean, you’ll probablyy be able to find a stray can or two of pumpkin left at the grocery store..
