Yet another excuse to mix pumpkin and chocolate

[ksmith]

This came from the Chicago Tribune. Have a batch baking as I type.

Pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins


1 cup canned pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds, see note (Me: I didn't have this, so I left it out)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached white flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each: baking soda, cinnamon, salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate or carob chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3 teaspoons raw sugar, optional, see note


1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pumpkin, water, oil, flax seeds and vanilla in a blender; process on high until well blended, about 1 minute. Set aside.

2. Mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl; add the pumpkin mixture, stirring until well blended. (Add a little water if the mixture seems dry.) Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

3. Spoon the batter evenly into a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners or sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle each muffin with 1/4 teaspoon of the raw sugar, if desired.

4. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan; gently remove from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Note: Flax seeds and raw sugar are available in health-food stores or in the baking aisle of specialty markets such as Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe's.

Nutrition information per serving:

234 calories, 36% of calories from fat, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 36 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 182 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

Comments

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

OK, I think I'm going to have to try something this Thanksgiving that I've thought about for years.

A chocolate/pumpkin pie, but using a brownie mix for the chocolate part. I want the difference in texture as well as the mix of flavors, the creamy v. fudgey-cakey.

We shall see, and I'll let you know how it turns out.

[phantomminuet.livejournal.com]

Sounds yummy. I wonder if you could substitute anything for the flax seeds, like ground pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

You probably could. I think they added flax because it's all the rage now.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

If it works out, let me know.

The muffins came out good.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Could be VERY tasty -- but probably not this high in fiber, if you left out the flax seed.

Me? I'm doing a pumpkin cheesecake Wednesday....

Made them last night...

[technomage.livejournal.com]

Substituted Black Walnuts... left off the sugar on top. The best turnout was from the mini-muffins (roughly one-inch around), where there wasn't much room for the contents to settle. I can't find my muffin tins for traditional cupcake sizes, so tried to pile in paper cups in a loaf pan... those didn't work very well.

I think they're luscious, but will likely ramp up the nutmeg and cinnamon next time. I think they were a touch bland on the pumpkin side.

Thanks for the recipe!

Re: Made them last night...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The batter I ended up with was pretty thick. I used foil liners in a regular size muffin tin, and had no settling issues.

I agree about the blandness. I considered sub'ing pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon-nutmeg, or adding allspice or ground cloves. Next time.

Glad they turned out for you!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I've made pumpkin cheesecake before. Yum!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

And I do a pecan crust, so I can eat the ENTIRE piece.

Plus lots of people to share it with, hurray! (Although cheesecake can last forever in the fridge -- if you can ignore it.... ;^)