Healthy (er) Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hey Fit & Healthy Friends & Family!!!  Several people have asked me to share my healthy (okay, healthier than some others) pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe…so, here you are friends!!  I apologize in advance for my lack of pictures.  I was using my iPhone and not expecting at the time to be posting this on my blog.

I’ll start by saying that I had a sick little pumpkin home with me yesterday and she was helping me to bake.  See the third photo below and you’ll know why I don’t bake with my kids that often.  Okay…and there’s the fact that I’m really not a very good baker.  Measuring…not my style.  And I won’t mention the mess I always make all over my kitchen.  Back to that third photo, I’m not responsible for that mess, just for the record.

I thought it would be fun to channel the flavors of fall because it was a dreary, chilly day.  I know it's still March and there's that whole "in like a lion" nonsense...but it was the 18th.  Come on now!!  I'm ready for the lamb!

Three happy little girls!

Since Take One of muffin making (banana muffins) did not pan out (haha!), I opted for Take Two…and use up what I could from the ingredients I still had in the pantry.  Since I had used up most of the whole wheat pastry flour in Take One, I had to substitute in this recipe.  This recipe makes 24 muffins.  You could halve everything to make 12.


Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup plus a few tablespoons brown rice flour
4 eggs (use farm fresh, organic, cage-free)
1 ¼ cups Turbinado (or coconut sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¾ can organic pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 cup natural applesauce (sugar free)
½ cup mini dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Splash of coconut or almond milk
 
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or spray 2 muffin tins (this recipe makes 24 muffins) or use paper cups to line muffin trays.  I always opt for greasing (coconut oil works well here!) because I think it makes the muffins a little more moist.  But, remember I’m not a baker so do what you think is best.  Combine all dry ingredients except chocolate chips & milk in a large mixing bowl.  In smaller bowl, whisk the eggs.  Add the pumpkin, vanilla & applesauce and mix with the eggs.  Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients.

Gently mix until all ingredients are incorporated but try not to overmix.  If your batter seems dry (like mine did…I think in part due to the brown rice flour addition), add a splash of coconut milk to reach your desired consistency.  Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.  I opted for sparse chips.  You can certainly add more for a more chocolatey pumpkin muffin, but I figure my girls get enough chocolate and sugar as it is.
 
Spoon the batter into your muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Start checking at 25 minutes (a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin should come out clean when the muffins are done).  I cooked mine 30 minutes but felt they would have been more moist if I took them out sooner.  That could have also been the brown rice flour.  If you use all whole wheat pastry flour, you might have to tweak the baking time, but I’d still check it starting at 25 minutes.
 
If you choose to make this recipe, please post here and let me know what you think!  Also, if you use substitutions or alternate ingredients, share too.  You could add walnuts, flax, chia, cranberries, all sorts of stuff!!  Try it!

After baking - they were dense but the kids loved them!

Take One - Ashelyn had trouble with the stirring when gravity kicked in.