Simply perfect for Christmas morning, if you ask us.
Recipe from Oh She Glows, here.
Yield 1 dozen
Prep 15 minutes, cook time 22
Ingredients:
For the wet ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree*
- 1/3 cup grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil**
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or try coconut nectar, agave nectar or yacon syrup)
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or try coconut palm sugar)
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
For the dry ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cups whole-grain spelt flour***
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (or Himalayan pink salt)
- Heaping 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
In a mug or small bowl, whisk together the chia seeds and water. Set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (spelt flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth (chia mixture, pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, and molasses).
Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. No patches of flour should remain. Be sure not to overmix the batter as spelt is a delicate flour.
If using, stir in the chopped walnuts. You can also reserve some for garnish on top, like in the photos.
Divide the batter equally between the 12 muffin liners. They should be about 3/4 full or a bit more. Add any reserved walnuts on top and gently push down (optional).
Bake the muffins for 20-24 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then transfer each muffin onto a cooling rack until completely cool.
TIPS:
* If your pumpkin puree is a bit grainy, try throwing it into a food processor and processing it until smooth before making this recipe. Or you can beat it with electric beaters. This will simply prevent clumps in the dough.
** If using melted coconut oil, make sure that the rest of the wet ingredients are all at room temperature (do not use refrigerated pumpkin, maple syrup, etc. as they will harden the coconut oil).
***I haven't tried these muffins with any other flour yet, but I expect that regular all-purpose flour will work (like in the loaf recipe). If you try any different flours please leave a comment with what you used and how it worked out!
