Make Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (Perfect for chilly mornings)

• Food: Pumpkin Muffins
• Writer: Nicolas Wilson
• Content-Type: Food Blog

This week, we had our first taste of a crisp autumn breeze. Do you have any idea what that means? It’s time for pumpkin muffins.

As I quenched my pumpkin desire, I took some fresh images of my favorite pumpkin muffin recipe. Pumpkin muffins are ideal for cool autumn mornings and lunchtime munchies.

Because they’re prepared with whole wheat flour and oats, are sweetened with real maple syrup or honey, and use coconut oil or olive oil instead of butter, they’re healthier than most.

This nutritious pumpkin muffin recipe, believe it or not, produces light and fluffy muffins.

Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are just a few of the comforting ingredients that go into these pumpkin muffins. The spice, not the pumpkin, provides the majority of the “pumpkin spice” flavor.

I like to top these muffins with almond butter, peanut butter, or pecan butter. Nut butter provides additional protein, so I’m not hungry until midday.

Enjoy your muffin with a handmade pumpkin chai latte if you’re going pumpkin crazy this time of year.

Skeptics of “healthy muffins” will be converted into believers with these pumpkin delicacies. Let’s get started!

How to make Pumpkin Muffins?

This pumpkin muffin recipe has five reasons to adore it:

1. These muffins are simple to make and require only a few ingredients. There’s only one bowl needed!
2. Even though they are made entirely of whole grains, they are fluffy and tasty. No one will be able to tell the difference.
3. They’re also sweetened naturally with maple syrup or honey rather than processed sugar. I like how the maple syrup (or honey) adds a little extra flavor.
4. These muffins are made with a couple of your favorite warming spices and taste just like a pumpkin latte.
5. They also keep well in the freezer for subsequent use. Individual muffins can be defrosted in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, or until warmed through gently. It’s important not to overdo it.
   the batter for pumpkin muffins

Notes & Tips for Making Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Switch things up a little. Nuts, chocolate chips, chopped fruit cranberries, or crystallized ginger are all good additions. Details can be found in the recipe notes.

Make the recipe easier to follow. 2 teaspoons of store-bought pumpkin spice blend can be used in place of the individual spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice). Alternatively, if your spice cabinet is depleted, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon and call it a day.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Liz drizzled the maple glaze from my pumpkin scones recipe on top of these muffins, which sounds delicious.

This muffin recipe is well suited to a low-carb diet. This dish can easily be made vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, and/or gluten-free. Details can be found in the recipe notes.

Success Tips for Baking

How to Calculate Flour

It’s crucial to measure your flour correctly. Why? If you measure poorly, you might wind up with up to 50% excess flour, resulting in dense, dry, and flavorless muffins. To use the spoon and swoop method, follow these steps:

1. To loosen any clumps in your flour, gently whisk it.
2. Using a large spoon or a flour scoop, scoop flour into the measuring cup. Do not scoop the flour into the measuring cup directly.
3. With a knife, level the top of the cup. As needed, repeat the process.

Instead of baking powder, use baking soda.

They are not interchangeable. Both are learners that aid in the rising of baked goods (although baking powder does contain some baking soda, that’s another issue). Always follow the instructions exactly and measure everything carefully for the best results.

How to Make a Batter Stir?

This muffin batter comes together quickly and easily by hand, which is how I recommend creating these muffins. Why? When you whip your batter, the gluten protein in the flour becomes too strong, resulting in difficult muffins.

When a stand mixer or hand mixer is nearby, I understand how tempting it is to use it. Don’t do it! You’ll get light, fluffy muffins if you follow the guidelines below.

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Time to Prepare: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 23 minutes Time spent: 33 minutes Serving: 12 muffins per batch

Healthy pumpkin muffins made with whole wheat grains and naturally sweetened in a single bowl! These pumpkin muffins are just as light, fluffy, and delicious as the ones you’d find in a coffee shop. This recipe makes 12 muffins.

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon
• ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or cloves)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
• Optional: 2 teaspoons turbinado (raw) sugar for a sweet crunch

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. (165 degrees Celsius). Fat all 12 cups of your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray if necessary (my pan was non-stick and didn’t need any grease).
2. Whisk together the oil and maple syrup or honey in a large mixing dish. Mix in the eggs thoroughly. Combine the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice mix, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix the flour and oats in a large mixing bowl with a big spoon until just mixed (a few lumps are ok). Fold in any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate, or dried fruit, at this point.
4. Evenly distribute the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of oats on top of each muffin, then a little dusting of raw sugar and/or pumpkin spice blend, if desired. Muffins should be baked for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. To cool, place the muffin tray on a cooling rack. Until they cool down, these muffins are fragile. To remove the muffins from the pan, you may need to run a butter knife around the outside edge.
6. After they’ve rested for a few hours, these muffins are even better! They’ll keep for up to 2 days at room temperature or 4 days in the refrigerator. They can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag (just defrost individual muffins as needed).

NOTES

OIL OPTIONS: Coconut oil is my favorite. I used unrefined coconut oil and the flavor is barely detectable in the finished product. If you’re into that, olive oil might give the muffins a herbal note.

Although vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, most vegetable/canola oils are heavily processed, therefore if possible, choose cold-pressed sunflower or grapeseed oil.

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: If you can find it, white whole wheat flour works well. Extra light and fluffy muffins made with whole wheat pastry flour are delicate till chilled. All-purpose flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour mixes can be used instead.

CHANGE IT UP: Add-ins are a great way to spice things up. Gently fold in up to 3/4 cup chocolate chips, chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, and/or some chopped dried cranberries or crystallized ginger after tossing in the flour and oats.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SERVING: Serve these muffins plain, with a pat of butter, or smeared with almond butter. They’d be delicious with homemade pecan butter or coconut butter as well.

MAKE IT EGG-FREE: Readers say that flax eggs work great in these muffins.

HOW TO MAKE IT VEGAN: Use maple syrup, flax eggs, and non-dairy milk instead of dairy milk.

MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: Simply use your favorite non-dairy milk.

REMOVE THE OATS: Simply leave out the oats. There are no further adjustments that are required.

MAKE IT LESS FATTENING: While I believe this bread has a good level of fat, if you’re on a low-fat diet, you may replace the oil with applesauce. When you use olive oil instead of coconut oil, you’ll lower the saturated fat content while keeping the total fat percentage the same.