These Pumpkin Spice Muffins are light, fluffy and super delicious! Perfect with a cup of tea on a cold day!
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Whenever I cook something with pumpkin, there always ends up being a little bit leftover that I’m not sure what to do with. That’s how this recipe came to be! I love having muffins on hand, especially right now since I’m home all day and always looking for a mid-day snack. This recipe is pretty simple to make and I love that warm, pumpkin spice flavour on a cold day!
An Important Note for Pumpkin Spice (or any!) Muffins
Don’t overmix! If you’re finding your muffins come out with peaks or are really pointy, it might be because you’ve overmixed and activated the gluten. Gluten is the protein found in wheat. It’s actually made up of two proteins; glutenin and gliadin. Both serve different purposes when it comes to structure. When you add liquid to flour, glutenin molecules bind to other glutenin molecules and the same goes for gliadin. This makes up the network that is gluten! When you mix or knead the dough, that network strengthens. This is great for things like bread or pizza, but not muffins or cakes. I recommend using a hand-mixer for the wet ingredients (not necessary – it’s just easier) and then folding in the dry ingredients with a spatula. It’s okay if there are lumps as long as there are no dry patches of flour.
Nutritional Benefits of Pumpkin
I feel like in recent years, pumpkin anything has become all the rage, especially in the fall. This is great because pumpkin has some wonderful benefits when it comes to nutrition! Pumpkins, like other orange vegetables, contain the phytonutrient beta-carotene. What is a phytonutrient? Well, phyto is latin for plant and you already know what nutrient means. Phytonutrients are nutrients that come from plants. There are many different types of phytonutrients but the ones we’re going to focus on today are carotenoids. There are also different types of carotenoids but the one most common in orange veggies is beta-carotene.
In the body, beta-carotene can be turned into Vitamin A, which you probably know is good for eye health, but also immune and heart health. Additionally, Vitamin A is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help protect the body from cell damage, caused by things such as smoking and even aging. A diet rich in antioxidants helps to lower your risk for chronic disease.
So I just used a lot of big words and you might be wondering if you need to be eating pumpkin every day to lower your risk for disease? Health Canada recommends one orange vegetable or fruit every single day. Other beta-carotene containing foods include butternut squash, carrots, apricots and canteloupe. A healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains will get you to meet your antioxidant needs. Prior to making any big changes to your diet, it’s important to consult with a dietitian or other healthcare provider.
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a muffin tin
- Measure and sift flour into a medium-sized bowl
- Add baking soda, spices and salt to flour and mix until combined. Set aside
- Cream sugars with melted butter for 2-3 minutes
- Mix eggs and vanilla into sugar/butter mixture
- Mix in pumpkin and greek yogurt
- Fold dry ingredients into wet and mix until just combined
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of muffin batter into each muffin tin
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean
- Let cool for 10 minutes, remove from tins and let cool completely on cooling rack.
- Enjoy!
[…] cold winter day. If you’re curious about the benefits of orange vegetables, I summed it up in this recipe. Additionally, if you’re finding yourself bored of eating veggies, my friend and mentor […]