Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Well, our area made it into the morning of November 1^st before we experienced a “killing frost”, and I am quite certain that this is the first, and will be the last, time I can say that I was picking tomatoes and peppers from my garden through Halloween. :) It has been a nice, warm autumn and I am grateful.

Today the garden area is rather bleak—the withered, blackened plants tied to tall sticks look barely capable of holding up the remaining, sad-looking tomatoes. And the beautifully-colored leaves have all come down during storms over the past week. I guess that, like it or not (and I don’t), winter is on its way.

I made muffins for breakfast this morning, and in honor of November, they were pumpkin spice.

I’ve made several different pumpkin spice muffin recipes but always come back to this one that I adapted from Home for the Holidays, Festive Baking with Whole Grains by Ken Haedrich. The original recipe uses melted butter, but canola oil stands in nicely (and with less saturated fat). I baked a double batch today and froze the muffins. When I do this, instead of doubling the canola oil, I sub pureed canned pears for half of the oil (½ cup oil, ½ cup pureed pears). It’s surprising how well this works in keeping the muffins moist, yet reducing the fat content in them.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Recipe By: Ken Haedrich

Servings: 12

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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1 large egg

1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons lemon zest -- (finely grated)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour -- or whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice -- *see Note

1/2 cup walnuts -- toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg lightly, then add the milk through lemon zest and stir until combined. Add in the brown sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flours through the spices. Make a "well" in the center of the flour mixture. Give a couple of stirs to the egg mixture, then pour the liquid ingredients in. Mix lightly until only a few streaks of the dry ingredients remain. Add the walnuts and mix just until combined.

Scoop into the muffin cups. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a center muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or freeze for later use.

Source:

"Homemade for the Holidays"

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Per serving: 256 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (28% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 16mg Cholesterol; 255mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates

NOTE : *- Instead of pumpkin pie spice, a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves may be substituted.

I (almost) always have toasted walnuts and almonds in the freezer. They will last for several months, and I don’t have to remember to toast the nuts before starting the recipe.