Secret Recipe Club: Pumpkin Spice Muffins

It's time once again for the fabulous Secret Recipe Club! This month I was assigned the blog Burnt Apple and had a great time reading all about the author and getting familiar with the fantastic list of recipes!

So many things jumped out at me as I was browsing through: Pumpkin Pie French Toast Casserole, Whole Grain Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffles, Pumpkin Spice Muffins, 30 Minute Apple Pie Pretzel Recipe, Under an Hour Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, Pumpkin Swirl Breakfast Cake, Starbucks Turkey Bacon Sandwich, and the Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix!! (Can you tell pumpkin recipes are sounding really good to me right now?!)

I loved learning more about the woman behind "Burnt Apple" - loved the inspiration for the name of the blog! :) I think it is a fantastic site - all about real life. Trying to balance good eating with the health of herself and her family, and of course the occasional yummy splurge!

I opted for the fantastic Pumpkin Spice Muffins! I have to be milk-free at the moment due to a milk protein allergy our baby girl is dealing with, so no cow's milk for this lactating mama! This recipe sounded perfect for the fall weather and would allow me to enjoy them as well since they met the "milk free" requirement. My son and I both really enjoyed these - like little pumpkin bread morsels in muffin sized treats! Tender, lightly flavored, and the light crunch and sweetness from the brown sugar on top was a really nice addition! I think I may have added more flour then was originally called for (the measuring cup I was using is not exactly the best!!) so my batter was very thick, and these had a pretty dense texture and didn't look quite like the ones at Burnt Apple - but regardless, they were great muffins and perfect for a fall time snack, breakfast, or dessert! They're great warm or cool, and I'm sure you could wrap and freeze them and pull them out as needed. I used Stevia in place of sugar, but I would probably need sugar next time since in this particular recipe the Stevia left an aftertaste that I noticed. It was probably the quantity - I might do half and half sugar / Stevia next time.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins slightly adapted from Burnt Apple
Makes 12

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole wheat white flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree
1/2 cup applesauce
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar (I used Stevia)
Brown Sugar, Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and spices.
3. In a mixing bowl thoroughly blend together the pumpkin, applesauce, eggs, and sugar until smooth. With mixer on low, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated.
4. Fill each muffin cup approximately 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle a generous pinch of brown sugar and a small pinch of cinnamon on top of each muffin for added flavor.
5. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Muffins are done cooking when they spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool on cooling rack for several minutes before serving.