Healthy, Hearty Pumpkin Muffins

[Adapted from Whole Living.com]

It's not quite cool enough here yet for pumpkin, but who cares. I had some fresh pumpkin  so I boiled it for a while and pureed it a la potato masher (if you're in China, make sure to use the pumpkins that are orange on the outside, green ones aren't as sweet). Finding a healthy pumpkin recipe proved more challenging than I realized. Even this one from Wholeliving.com was supposedly healthy but with 3/4 cup veggie oil and 3 eggs, not quite, so I made major adaptions and came up with a roommate approved recipe! (Note: I also made my own applesauce and sweetened it a bit with brown sugar so I reduced the sugar in the recipe.)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tablespoon (or more) pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

2 egg whites, beaten

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsn flaxseed

2 Tbsn water

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries, optional

1/3 cup pecans, optional

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Prep 12 large muffin tins with paper or a little oil. (I used silicone muffin cups and the muffins didn't stick at all.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl combine wet ingredients. Once combined add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add dried fruit and nuts, if adding.
4. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 40 minutes to 50 minutes (It was very humid when I made these and I was using a Chinese oven so be careful that they cook in the middle. Don't put them too close to the top burner and let them cook longer if they seem to need it. Cool in pan for a few minutes and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Serve warm with butter, cinnamon and sugar, or green rhubarb jam, if you're so lucky to possess some.