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I do believe that fall is easily my favorite season! And whenever that cooler fall weather hits, all I can think about is pumpkin… everything! Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin spice donuts, and pumpkin funnel cake (yes, pumpkin funnel cakes are a thing!). So naturally, as I was thinking about making muffins, I had to look for a pumpkin muffin recipe!

So I started searching for a simple muffin recipe that I would be happy serving to my 10-month-old as well. It just so happens that I came across a vegan pumpkin muffin recipe and used this as my base for this muffin. My family and I aren’t vegan or opposed to butter or eggs - but this recipe looked so simple and easy to make, so I decided to try it out (with just a few changes). The original recipe called for ground nutmeg, but I didn’t have that in my pantry, so I moved forward with this recipe without that spice. And I just so happened to have some applesauce in my fridge, but if you don’t have that in your pantry, you could easily substitute some ripe banana.

Overall, the recipe turned out super moist and just the right kind of dense! It truly reminds me of a pumpkin cake donut. I believe this recipe would do really well as a loaf of bread - it would just need to be baked longer to cook the whole way through. I do feel like this recipe was on the sweet side, and I would be curious to test out my next batch of this recipe with less sugar than it calls for - or just keep off the cinnamon sugar topping.

The amount of batter for this recipe probably would have made about 16 small muffins, but after I filled my first muffin tin with batter for a dozen muffins, I grabbed one of my “big muffin” tins and dumped about a quarter cup of chocolate chips into the remaining batter and poured it out into the big muffin tin to make two giant chocolate chip muffins. These were incredible! I would definitely consider adding chocolate chips to this recipe for my next batch!

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Makes approximately 1.5 dozen muffins
Preheat oven to 350º (F)

INGREDIENTS:

Pumpkin Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated pure cane sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional Add-Ins

1 cup chocolate chips

Cinnamon Sugar Topping (optional)

2 Tbsp butter (vegan butter if desired)
2 Tbsp granulated pure cane sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350º (F). Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree with both sugars, mixing to combine. Add applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined evenly. (Be careful not to over-mix the batter.)
Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way. Bake for 20 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To top the muffins, combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. Lightly brush each top with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.