Soo…. the weather has currently been in the 100’s here in SoCal and I thought it was mid October, but I guess the weather has other thoughts. I had to laugh to myself yesterday as I was making these muffins because I was LITERALLY sweating in my apartment. I’m pretty sure it’s hotter now than it was in July and August.
Since it’s so hot, I have decided to protest the weather by burning fall candles, decorating our apartment with sunflowers and making pumpkin goodies in hopes that the weather will get with the plan.
These pumpkin muffins are one of my favorite fall treats to bake. I actually got this recipe from one of my nutrition college professors. She originally brought this recipe to class as pumpkin bread, but I modified the recipe to create muffins.
Because I’m a dietitian, I’m going to share a little bit about the health benefits of pumpkins. They are orange (as I’m sure you have noticed) which means they are loaded with vitamin A. Vitamin A helps our vision, skin and much more. Maybe you have seen skin products that contain “retinol” – that’s just another name for vitamin A. Vitamin A is also an antioxidant which can help prevent cancer, heart disease and overall damage to our body cells. Pretty cool huh?
If you aren’t a baker, this recipe is for YOU. The ingredients aren’t anything special and the prep-work takes all about 10-15 minutes. Make sure you pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees before you begin mixing everything so the oven will be ready.
You will need:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. vegetable oil (canola oil is fine)
1/3 c. water
1 can of pumpkin
1 c. chocolate chips
1.Sift/mix the first 6 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl ( I love these).
2.Add in the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the chocolate chips and mix until smooth.
3.Mix in chocolate chips and mix.
4.Line muffin sheet with cupcake wrappers and pour 2 spoonfuls of batter into each muffin wrapper (should be 3/4 full).
5.Place sheet in oven for 20-25 minutes (how cute is my cow timer) or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Enjoy!
PS. You may also want to frost these with cream cheese frosting and add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top 🙂
Enjoy your Wednesday! Hubs and I will be heading to Iowa this weekend where the high is 44 degrees…guess I’m getting the cold weather that I asked for 😉 I would love to hear about your weekend plans in the comments below!
XOXO Elizabeth Morgan
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