Our Favorite Pumpkin Muffins

These are one of our absolute favorites... Pumpkin muffins! M1 & M2 eat these delicious muffins year round & share my love of squash/pumpkin. We make these (mini) muffins once a week, no lie & I freeze them in large zip-loc bags to be taken out of the freezer once we're ready for one. It's a perfect breakfast muffin or afternoon snack. What's even better is they do not contain dairy like most muffin recipes do. M1 has a fairly severe dairy allergy & I now know that it's hard to find muffin/bread recipes that do not contain milk &/or buttermilk so these are perfect. I received the recipe from a friend a few years back & since then we've made a few changes to make them a bit healthier... I'll put my substitutions/changes in (parenthesis) so you can see both versions of the recipe.

2 cups white flour (whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 cups sugar (3/4 cup)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin (I've used fresh in the fall)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (applesauce)
1/2 cup water

1. Mix together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

   2. Combine "wet" ingredients in a small bowl & mix well.

           3. Combine the dry & wet ingredients until just moistened.
     4. Spoon the mixture into a greased muffin pan (we use a mini-muffin pan) 3/4 full.

 5. Bake mini-muffins @ 325 for 15-20 minutes. (Longer if you're making regular size muffins.)
          6. Allow a few minutes to cool before removing them from the pan.
        7. Place whatever you don't eat in a large zip-loc to store in the freezer for weeks. M1 likes to put  the frozen muffin in the microwave for 15-20 seconds for the "out of the oven" warmth!

Enjoy your delicious breakfast or snack! s.b.