Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup 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)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
• Optional: Nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. If necessary, grease all 12 cups of your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and didn’t require any grease).
• In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup or honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs, and beat well. Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt.
• Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, mix those in now!
• Distribute the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with about a tablespoon of oats, followed by a light sprinkle of raw sugar and/or pumpkin spice blend if you’d like. Bake muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
• Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan.
• These muffins taste even better after they have rested for a couple of hours! They’ll keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months (just defrost individual muffins as needed).

PUMPKIN FUN FACTS
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