Spice Girl Pumpkin Muffins

In Breakfast, Recipes by Frances Largeman Roth

Makes 12 muffins

If you ever need to sell your home, whip up a batch of these muffins before the open house. The scent of all the warm fall spices creates a cozy atmosphere that’s worth almost as much as a good home stager. Plus, these muffins are amazingly moist, with absolutely no oil or butter, making them even more magical.

Ingredients:

  • COOKING SPRAY, for the liners
  • 2 ripe BANANAS, mashed
  • 1 cup canned PUMPKIN PURÉE
  • 2 large EGGS, whisked
  • ⅓ cup SUGAR
  • ½ cup pure MAPLE SYRUP
  • 2 cups WHITE WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR (or half all-purpose flour and half whole-wheat flour)
  • ¼ cup ground FLAXSEED or CHIA SEED
  • ¼ cup WHEAT GERM
  • 1 teaspoon BAKING POWDER
  • 1 teaspoon BAKING SODA
  • ½ teaspoon SALT
  • ¼ teaspoon ground CARDAMOM
  • ¼ teaspoon ground NUTMEG
  • ¼ teaspoon ground CLOVES
  • 1 teaspoon ground CINNAMON
  • ¾ cup SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHUNKS (optional)
  • ¼ cup shelled raw PUMPKIN SEEDS

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. Spray the liners with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and maple syrup.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, flaxseed, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.
  4. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Do not over mix.
  5. Stir in the chocolate chunks, if using (silly not to!).
  6. Use a ⅓-cup measure to fill the muffin liners (you’ll have a bit of batter left over). Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds evenly over muffins.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops feel dry when touched. Transfer the muffins to a baking rack to cool.
  • CALORIES 238
  • Fat 6g(Sat 2g, Mono 0.8g, Poly 1g)
  • Protein 7g
  • Carbohydrates 42g
  • Fiber 5g
  • Cholesterol 3.1mg
  • Iron 1.7mg
  • Sodium 266mg
  • Potassium 223mg
  • Calcium 51mg