These muffins are something quick that you can make when you are up at 5am because both dog and dad are snoring (and as a bonus, it uses some pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and applesauce, all of which I made this weekend). I lightened the recipe slightly by using applesauce instead of oil and I replaced some of the white flour with whole wheat. I think you could replace the one cup of flour with some rolled oats for some extra fibre, if you like. I’m not sure there is much you can do about all of the sugar, though I did change from white to brown sugar – the muffins need the sweet, especially with the unsweetened applesauce and pumpkin puree. Just think of them as a treat or a boost of energy in the morning.
And hopefully this will give my staff family some energy for the chores I set out for them today. As long as it doesn’t rain, today is the day we rip out the garden, pick the last of the pumpkin, squash and cabbage and anything else that might be hiding in the weeds, dig up the potatoes and put it to rest. We have some garlic to plant, and then we are officially winterized. And then tomorrow we eat turkey. I’ve been looking forward to turkey all weekend. I’m not sure we planned the day for the Thanksgiving dinner well, because dad and tall kid need to go to hockey practice right afterwards. I’m sure they won’t be the only ones in a triptophan semi-comatose state.
Pumpkin Pie Muffins
(adapted from this recipe)
- 3 cups whole wheat flour (you can substitute all-purpose)
- 2 cups sugar (I used brown sugar)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin)
- 2/3 cup applesauce
- 3 eggs
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 muffin cups.
- In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients and mix well, making sure to remove any lumps from the sugar. In a separate bowl, beat together 2 cups pumpkin puree, applesauce and eggs. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture just until smooth, then scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Makes 18 regular sized muffins or 12 large muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tin.
The muffins are tasty and moist, plus the house smelled great while they were baking. Add-ins like raisins or chunks of apple would also great. Next time I will give that a try.
Linked to A Pinch of Joy, Addicted to Recipes, Frugally Sustainable, Mind Body and Sole, Gastronomical Sovereignty, GNOWFGLINS, Foy Update
lightlycrunchy 
These look great, Heidi! I’m tempted to try these with a butternut squash puree. Enjoy your day!
They’d work perfectly with squash purée too. They take on more of the spice taste, really. The pumpkin and applesauce add vitamins, fibre and moisture, mostly. So far, the family has eaten almost 4 dozen of these. They are a new favourite.
I made a batch of these yesterday morning with my fresh butternut squash puree and some homemade apple sauce. I took your suggestion and substituted a cup of oatmeal for flour. Lastly, I topped them with walnuts. They had the whole house smelling divine and they taste great! I popped most of them in the freezer in prep for baby’s arrival in a couple of months (I’m anticipating I’ll need LOTS of easy and relatively healthy snacks). Thanks for sharing your recipe, Heidi!
You’re welcome – I’m glad to hear the oatmeal works well, too. I’ve tried it with all whole wheat and half whole wheat and half white flour, so my next step was the oats. The walnuts sound like a great idea, too. I brought some to work this morning and they went over very well.
I’m sure you’re the hit of the office with those muffins in hand!
Oh you are making me so hungry right now. I love pumpkin anything and especially love pumpkin muffins. With no stove I haven’t made anything, but I did get a treat from a neighbor who bought a pumpkin pie and shared a slice with me last night to thank me for a favor I did her.
I love pumpkin pie. That’s a great thank you.
It sure was. she even topped it with whipped cream!
Ooh, those sound fantastic! For some reason I immediately though of adding white chocolate chips — I may have to give that a go!
White chocolate sounds great. I think I’ll add walnuts next time. I’d add raisins, but my kids wouldn’t eat them then.
What a great idea! But did you really make tehse at 5am?? WOW!! 🙂
I did. I like getting up early – the house is so quiet.
Well that’s true! But still, wow, 5 am… I guess your family was happy to get these delicious treats for breakfast 😉
You can tell fall is truly here when the craving for all things pumpkin begins! Thanks for posting. I’ll def have to give this one a try! And what’s up with all the early risers this weekend? I went to bed at 2am Saturday, and was up at 7am (thanks in part to the rooster) cooking down the last (thank GOODNESS!) of the tomatoes into a spicy pasta sauce. Whew. And this post just reminded me – I still need to can some more applesauce. I’ve got about 5 jars left from last canning season, but I do use it as the replacement for oil in all cake and cookie recipes. Need some unsweetened!
Oh, these look so yummy! Think I might have to give them a try sooner rather than later. 🙂
I could almost smell them! Mmmm…! They are BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks! I made two batches over the holiday weekend and they are all gone. It’s definitely a new favourite.
oooookay, now I have 4 recipes to try with the pumpkin puree 🙂 Hubby will scarf these up in a big hurry. Thank you Heidi!
You’re welcome. They were a big hit here with the kids, niece and nephew and the city cousins this weekend. And I might have scarfed a few (5) myself. Oops. I guess this Thanksgiving weekend I am thankful for those larger waist pants at the back of my closet.
I made these last night with a couple twitches…omg! So yummy! Thank you for a terrific recipe that I am definitely going to make over and over again!
I’d love to hear what you changed or added – I constantly do that too. I want to try them next with little chopped bits of apple in them.
Ooooo nom nom! Great idea!
I added a half-cup of maple yogurt. Slurp. 🙂
Sounds good too – someone else suggested white choc chips too, which could be really good.
sound delicious–both in taste and aroma
My daughter has a school project this week where she has to bring a cake to school and decorate it in the shape of Utah. I think I found what I’m going to use for the cake base! You are giving me all sorts of goodness today! (It’s because I’m so behind on post reading)
Now I’m going to have to look up the shape of Utah – that sounds hard..
Um, it’s actually ridiculously easy. It’s buying all the candy they want us to top it with that I’m really taking issue with.
🙂 our school is pretty anti candy – I don’t think they want to deal with the resulting sugar rush. They’d definitely never request it! Can’t say I blame them.
I wish ours would hop on that bandwagon, I think I’m the only parent who is vocal about it, and they all ready think I’m crazy since I complained that the cafeteria doesn’t have ANY vegetarian options.
That wouldn’t fly up here.. We have new rules governing whole grain and fat content in foods served in schools and they have to follow the food guide and, I think, offer vegetarian. We have a small school with no cafeteria or hot lunch program, we pack ours. They have an occasional pizza day, as long as they find a place that will provide pizza made according to the guidelines.
I think that’s great. We pack in lunch every day too since the options are just horrid.The American school lunch program is pitiful, it’s chicken nuggets and fries, or burgers and fries and pizza pretty much all the time. That ketchup counts as a vegetable choice pretty much sums it all up
Oh my! 1) I need these, I sure do. 2) I haven’t been seeing your posts in my feed lately! What! So off I go to check out all the happenings. 🙂
Heidi, these sounds absolutely heavenly!
🙂 Mandy
We try not to be, but we are muffin fanatics!
Nothing wrong with being a muffin fanatic. I think we might be too.
These sound great – with fall here I think I need to do some pumpkin baking.
These sound wonderful — love your idea of adding walnuts, too — mentioned in the comments! Thanks for linking on Busy Monday!
wow good on you, sister! i wish i could winterize my garden! since the move i no longer have a garden and thus am unable to winterize… jealous. i am. haha.
p.s. your muffins look fabulous 🙂 i often use organic cane sugar instead of brown or white – do you think that might work here or would it need the sweetness of the latter?
thank you for sharing your post with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up! I hope to see you again this week with more incredible seasonal and whole/real fresh food ideas 🙂 xo, kristy
I don’t see why you couldn’t try the substitution. I’m always changing things around, too.
I made these pumpkin muffins today and I added white chips and walnuts they are very good. I’m
trying to cook healthier and with less pre made junk
I’m definitely trying them next with white chocolate chips. That sounds good.
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