Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Wowza! I never use that word but it’s what blurted out after the first bite of these moist, spicy and healthy pumpkin muffins, a recipe from a reader. The recipe starts with 100% whole wheat flour and uses just 1/4 cup of oil – that's half the usual oil or butter for a dozen muffins. Plus the recipe somehow begs for adaptation: I made three variations – all easy, all with pantry ingredients, even one that’s a healthy makeover of the Starbucks Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffin. And then I invited Kitchen Parade readers to try the muffins and play with their own variations. Just look at all the rave reviews!

Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins ♥ KitchenParade.com, healthy pumpkin muffins that stay moist and fresh for days, spicy with great texture. Rave reviews.

Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. A Fall Classic. Budget Friendly. Great for Meal Prep. Rave Reviews.

COMPLIMENTS!
  • "The liqueur-soaked currants made them sublime! " ~ Rami
  • "... the Starbucks version of the muffins ... are delicious!" ~ Judy
  • "This is a fantastic healthy muffin recipe!" ~ Lindsay
  • "The recipe is already filed in our 'keepers' box and I've passed it on to friends." ~ TBergen
  • "... they were delicious." ~ Diane
  • "I agree, they are PERFECT! Is it the rest time? ... Even my husband, who is "iffy" at best about pumpkin, snarfed these down!" ~ DLA
  • "... the pumpkin muffins are the BEST !!!!!!! I've ever made." ~ Gloria BF
  • "... these were great! Some of the best I've come across." ~ Anonymous
BEST RECIPES!

A Reader Writes: "I Have a Better Recipe"

Your Dorie Greenspan pumpkin muffin recipe looks pretty good, but I can do better.


Them’s fightin’ words! I thought, when an e-mail arrived from Beth in San Francisco.

But I appreciated her confidence! No prevarication, no namby-pamby maybe-give-this- recipe-a-try-if-you-like introduction from her, thank you very much. The bold endorsement grabbed me as much as the ingredient list. Just a quarter cup of fat? One hundred percent whole wheat flour? All those fall spices, my favorites?

So Beth sold me, would she have sold you, too?

Here’s what Beth wrote:


I usually scoff at recipes calling for oil and water instead of buttermilk and, well, butter. But I do not scoff at recipes with stone-ground whole wheat flour that still turn out to be perfectly – and I mean perfectly – moist and utterly, utterly creamy and amazing in your mouth.

They are easy but they always turn out. You can make them any size you like, they can be turned into cupcakes by adding cream cheese frosting. Take them to an event and everybody begs for the recipe.

Give them a shot; they are one of the best recipes I have ever laid my hands on.

And so I did.

Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins ♥ KitchenParade.com, healthy pumpkin muffins that stay moist and fresh for days, spicy with great texture. Rave reviews.

Batch #1: Wowza.

The first batch, by accident I used pumpkin pie filling instead of 100% pumpkin purée. Yeah. Wowza.

You know how recipes, including mine, always say, “Buy the pure pumpkin purée, not the pumpkin pie filling.”? Well, I’m here to tell you, pumpkin pie filling works just fine in this recipe, in fact, I might recommend the spice-forward and chewy-crusted muffins if you’re headed in the cream-cheese frosting cupcake direction.

I should have known.

After all, didn’t Beth promise? These muffins always work out.

Batch #2: A Starbucks Muffin Copycat Makeover.

For Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins like Starbucks, mix and freeze the cream cheese mixture before baking. Recipe ♥ KitchenParade.com.

The second batch, I did a healthy makeover of the Starbucks Cream Cheese Pumpkin muffins.

  • STARBUCKS' MUFFINS The Starbucks originals are oh-so-tempting looking but yikes people, a Starbucks muffins adds up to 470 calories!
  • THIS MAKEOVER RECIPE My healthy makeover muffins? Just 230 calories!

There's a trick to working with the cream cheese that's the "surprise inside" a Starbucks pumpkin muffin. It's an easy one!

First mix the muffin batter, then let it rest for an hour.

While the batter rests, quickly freeze the cream cheese mixture (recipe below) before slipping it into the muffin batter. Just spread the mixture on a piece of waxed paper, wrap and freeze. Then cut the frozen mixture into twelve pieces. The cream cheese mixture keeps in the freezer for a few weeks if you want to make a mixed batch, some with cream cheese, some without.

One Batch After Another.

More muffins!

The third batch, I kept simple, topping only with a few pumpkin seeds. The fourth batch, I did four muffins of each variation! The fifth and sixth batches, I just enjoyed each and every muffin, straight out of the oven and even, get this, up to four and five days later, they’re still fresh!

So yes, I have a brand-new pumpkin muffin recipe – thank you, Beth!

In the last four weeks, I've made pumpkin muffins four times with the new recipe. That old Dorie Greenspan recipe? I made once in four years. That'll tell you something!

And the new recipe, compared to Dorie's recipe, has just half the calories, half the Weight Watchers points.

You heard it here first. Wowza!!

Many Kitchen Parade recipes are measued by weight, not volume with a kitchen scale. The results are more consistent and there are fewer dishes to watch!

Easy Measuring by Weight, Not Volume

This is another "trick" – and it works with nearly all of my recipes not just with pumpkin muffins.

Careful readers perhaps have noticed that for awhile now, I include metric measurements for some ingredients, especially for baking. I've especially learned to appreciate recipes where no measuring cups are needed, when the ingredients can be added one at a time using a kitchen scale. That's why, for example, in this recipe, I show the weight of the water and the oil in addition to the volume. It makes mixing these easy muffins such a snap!

RESOURCES This is the kitchen scale (affiliate link) I've used for years. I use it every single day. Every.Single.Day. My Disclosure Promise

Bookmark! PIN! Share!

How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe flexible muffin recipe hits the mark, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...

Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins ♥ KitchenParade.com, healthy pumpkin muffins that stay fresh for days. Moist and spicy with great texture.



READER RECIPE: PERFECT WHOLE WHEAT PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Hands-on time: 15 minutes to mix, 5 minutes to fill
Plan Ahead! for the Resting time (see TIPS): 1 hour
Time to table: 2 hours
Makes 12 standard-size muffins
    FLOUR MIXTURE
  • 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (see TIPS), fluffed to aerate before measuring or 187 grams
  • 1 cup (200g) sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
    PUMPKIN MIXTURE
  • 1 large egg, see TIPS (if doubling the recipe, use 3 eggs)
  • 1/4 cup (55g) vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup (60g) water
  • 3/4 cup (185g, about half a 15-ounce can) canned 100% pumpkin purée (see TIPS)
    DRIED FRUIT
  • 1/2 cup (60g) dried cranberries or currants, optional but recommended
  • Orange liqueur to cover, optional

FLOUR MIXTURE In a large bowl, stir together the flour mixture.

PUMPKIN MIXTURE In a second bowl, whisk the egg until well combined, add the remaining ingredients and whisk until just combined.

COMBINE & REST With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Let the batter rest at room temperature for an hour. (Now’s a good time to set a timer for 45 minutes to remind yourself to heat the oven.)

DRIED FRUIT If the fruit is dry, soak in liqueur to plump up while the muffin batter rests. Just before baking, drain off the liqueur and gently stir into the batter.

BAKE Heat the oven to 400F/200C. Lightly spray a muffin tin or line muffins tins with (my favorite) silicone cupcake liners. With two spoons, one to scoop and one to scrape, fill the muffin tins, then gently smooth the tops. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes before gently removing from the muffin tin and serving.

ALANNA’s TIPS Beth recommends stone-ground 100% whole wheat flour for its coarseness. I’ve used the stone-ground flour and regular whole wheat flour and find them interchangeable. But if you’d like to seek out stone-ground whole wheat flour, check out the Bob’s Red Mill shelves at the grocery store, otherwise order straight from Bob’s Red Mill online. I have adapted Beth’s recipe a smidgen, halving the recipe for just 12 muffins, adding a little more salt, soaking the dried fruit in a liqueur for plumpness, a good thing in dried fruit. Beth’s original recipe for two dozen muffins called for 3 eggs. For a single dozen muffins, I’ve tested with 1-1/2 eggs and just a single egg. Both work! So what about that hour-long rest period? What’s it for and is it necessary? One batch, I baked a half dozen muffins straight off (no resting period) and the remaining muffins with a 30-minute rest period. The rest does make a difference in the texture of the muffins’ crust. After the rest, the muffins’ outside edges are chewier, also sweeter somehow, almost caramelized. So I’m sold, the rest converts very good pumpkin muffins into wowza-great pumpkin muffins. Don’t we all appreciate a good nap? Muffins too, it seems.
CORRECTION A prior version of this recipe specified 250g of whole wheat flour. That's way too much flour and results in muffins that are craggy and slightly dry. The correct amount of flour is 187g. I do apologize for the error ...
NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Perfect Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Muffin Without/With Dried Fruit: 174/197 Calories; 5g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 17mg Cholesterol; 325/320mg Sodium; 30/35g Carb; 2g Fiber; 17/22g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 4 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints 7/9 & Freestyle 7/8 & myWW green 7/8 & blue 7/8 & purple 7/8 & future WW points



CREAM CHEESE PUMPKIN MUFFINS LIKE STARBUCKS'

    CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE
  • 4 ounces (115g) low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 12 toasted pecan halves

Mix the muffins (recipe above but skip the dried fruit) then let rest for an hour.

While the muffin batter rests, stir together the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla. Spread the mixture onto a piece of waxed paper, it should be about a half-inch thick (see photo above to see how). Wrap the waxed paper around the mixture and freeze.

Just before baking, fill the muffin tins with the muffin batter. Cut the frozen cream cheese mixture into 12 roughly equivalent pieces. Gently push one piece partially into the center of each muffin cup's batter, leaving the top exposed. Top the muffin batter cross-wise with a pecan half.

Bake same as above.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
My Recipe, Per Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffin, see my Starbucks Copycat & Makeover recipe above: 230 Calories; 10g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 24mg Cholesterol; 363mg Sodium; 32g Carb; 2g Fiber; 19g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 5 & PointsPlus 6 & SmartPoints 9 & Freestyle 9 & myWW green 9 & blue 9 & purple 9 future WW points

versus

For Comparison, the Starbucks Recipe, Per Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffin (from Starbucks): 470 Calories; 24g Tot Fat; 6g Sat Fat; 85mg Cholesterol; 420 Sodium; 60g Carb; 1g Fiber; 28g Sugar; 6g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 11 & Points Plus 13 & SmartPoints 19 & Freestyle 19 & myWW green 18 & blue 18 & purple 18 future WW points

So Hey Starbucks Listen up, please! Your Starbucks Cream Cheese Muffin has 2X the calories, 2.5X the fat, 2X the carbs, 1.5X the sugar and 2X the Weight Watchers points than my recipe. Please! A company like Starbucks can do better! Data Source NutritionData

Tis the Season: Ubiquitous Pumpkin

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~ cream cheese recipes ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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2010, 2015 (repub), 2019, 2020 & 2022

Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to add toasted pecan nuts or pumpkin seeds. It will boost the WW point count a bit, but also add protein and "good fat" to it! I would also plump up the dried fruit by steaming it instead of soaking it, and skip the liqueur and add orange zest instead.

    googlegroups8 at yahoo dot ca

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Alana, We have "talked" before!

    About the stone ground whole wheat flour: the Loaves and Fishes store in Washington, MO carries a good one. In fact, I go there every so often and buy 25 or 30 pounds, in 5 lb. bags, to have in my freezer. If you call ahead they can make sure they have it and bag it the way you want. They have a website:

    http://local.yahoo.com/info-17672331-loaves-fishes-bulk-food-washington

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  3. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to add some mini-chocolate chips...or stud the tops with a few regular chocolate chips. Love pumpkin and chocolate!!

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  4. Anonymous11/17/2010

    The recipe sounds wonderful! My modifications would be to use brown sugar instead of white to give it a caramely kick. (Is caramely even a word?!) I might even substitute extra - virgin coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. Thanks for such a versatile recipe!

    gardensoftheheart at msn dotdot com

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  5. I've been searching for a healthy pumpkin recipe, thanks so much! I've come across several pumpkin cookie recipes that use butterscotch chips. I'll try those in these as a healthy cupcake option.

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  6. Hi. Made the muffins as is, but added some toasted pumpkin seeds on top. The liquer soaked currants made them sublime! Yum. The suggestion of adding mini-chocolate chips also sounds great.

    rmerlin at yahoo dot com

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  7. Anonymous11/17/2010

    my idea for modifications would be to use caramel sauce (add 1/2cup) and muffins inside add caramel pumpkin puree & chocolate chip..yummy!

    gokchecoskun@gmail.com

    Miss.Z.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is ... ".

    I would either substitute the sugar for Honey or do a half honey and half brown sugar. I would like to try a mixture of cinnamon and maple flavoring in lieu of the cinnamon and nutmeg.

    marilyn@marktwain.net or sunny332@gmail.com

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  9. I would use spenda for the sugar and I would add at least 1 cup of nuts,walnuts

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  10. Anonymous11/17/2010

    My favorite item to all is to sprinkle some chopped up spearment candies on top. add just that bit of zip. my grandchildre always make sure I use these. MaryAnn Grove

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  11. I would add raisins and oatmeal to the muffins, soaking the raisins as for the dried fruit. Think I might use half black raisins and half golden. Yum, love the recipe. tcmaryf atgmail dotcom

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  12. Anonymous11/17/2010

    My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to substitute half the oil and water with my baking applesauce. Hence the recipe would be 1/8 cup oil, 1/8 cup water and 1/4 cup unspiced applesauce.

    My "other" idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to increase the pecans to 1/4 cup and toast then chop medium fine and mix into the batter and substitute Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese.

    I'm going to make these this weekend with the above substitutions and let you know. I might even make half the batch at "mini" muffins for bite sized Thanksgiving morning treats.

    p.s. my gmail email addy is the whole word "nevada" no space "mtnbear".

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous11/17/2010

    My idea(s) for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins are:

    1. reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup and sub in half with brown sugar
    2. add more spices (we LOVE spices!): 1 ts cinnamon, 1/4 ts ginger & 1/4 ts cardamon
    3. sub in coconut milk (the carton kind) for the water
    4. and, drum roll please, add 1/2 cup freshly toasted unsweetened coconut - finely chopped (make use of that spice grinder!) to the dry batter

    Now this is heaven! I will try this recipe with my modifications and let you know about the yumminess that ensues...

    e-mail: gulledgr AT si DOT edu

    ReplyDelete
  14. Monique11/17/2010

    My suggestion would be to add a little lemon zest to the muffin mix and top with a nice cream cheese frosting made with a hint of Kaluah. moniqueapoo at yahoo dot com.

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  15. Adding mini choco chips!!

    mariannakeough at hotmail.com

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  16. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is ... to make it with gluten-free flour so my husband can enjoy them as much as me! :)

    jeanne 40 ish (AT) g mail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, disappointment!! I made these with white whole wheat flour (what I had on hand), one egg and Splenda. I did let them sit for an hour...but they mostly just solidified in the oven. No rising into a nice muffin shape, not terribly moist. Best thing about them; the chocolate chips I added. I'll try again, but I'm coming to the conclusion that pumpkin bread and muffins need the oil, and I just need to learn to eat fewer!

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  18. I find it hard to believe this is considered a new receipe. I have been making muffins, a loaf bread or cookies using the receipe below. Not much different except the resting period and ginger, chocolate chips and nuts.
    I have used a variation of 100 whole wheat. A combination of 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 regular flour. Also I have used canned pumpkin at all times. Each of the above have come out beautiful and moist. My family has enjoyed these for 29 years. I came across the receipe from a cook book put out by a catholic church in Jacksonville, Florida, 1981.
    I have sent this receipe in muffin form off to my two sons who are in the military. They are partial to the half and half. Upon arrival they are still moist.
    I have replaced oil for margarine and have used butter. I sorta overload on the nuts and chips. I have also used a mixture of peanut butter and chocolate chips. The resting period does interest me.


    Harvest Loaf Bread.
    1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
    1 tsp soda
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp ntmeg
    1/4 tsp ginger
    1/4 tsp ground cloves
    1/2 cup margarine
    1 cup sugar (I suggest brown sugar)
    2 eggs
    3/4 cup canned pumpkin
    3/4 cup chocolate pieces
    3/4 cup chopped walnuts

    Combine all dry ingredients and sift. Cream margarine with sugar. Add eggs. Beat. ADd pumpkin, then dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate pieces and walnuts. Pur into greased loaf pan. Bake at 360 for 60-70 minutes. Test for doneness.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Marilyn K11/17/2010

    I quickly looked at the recipe and I would reduce the amount of sugar and use brown sugar as it pairs well with pumpkin. I also would add rolled oats to the flour mix as I just love the taste, I find our ordinary robin hood whole wheat flour tasteless and would love to get my hands on whole wheat that has a taste. I bake bread regularly. I will be trying the recipe as I do want to enter for 10 points. Thanks.

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  20. There aren't too many modifications I would make to sucha yummy looking muffin- Now i know what I'm making for Thanksgiving morening :) If I did make modifictions it would most likely be the addition to chopped fresh cranberries- OR to make kid friendly then I would add cinnamon baking chips...or maybe heart healthy dark chocolate :)

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  21. What if you added, say, some chopped apples, and maybe walnuts? Hmmm. . . and I have a couple of pumpkins begging to be roasted.

    Or, hey, what about some cooked sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin? I mean, sweet potato pie is as good as pumpkin pie, right? I've got a couple of lonely sweet potatoes knocking around, too, I think.

    I see what you mean about endless variations, Alanna!

    (oh and krisanderic -AT- gmail -DOT- com

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh, I would love to win Dorie's book! My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to use organic orange juice or concentrate (for even more orange flavor) in place of the water and add some orange zest to the batter. I loved reading all the other scrumptious suggestions! farmgirlfare AT gmail DOTDOT com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I noticed the recipe says dried fruit is optional but recommended. Was it you (Alana) that added the recommended part or was it in the original directions? I'm not a fan of dried fruit and was wondering if you had tried it without and that's why you put in the recommended part. Would adding a fresh fruit (apple or cranberry) be adequate?

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  24. Hi Jen, Both of us 'recommend' the fruit unless you're doing something else. I love them with the fruit, they seem 'finished' somehow. But if you're making the Starbucks version, no fruit is needed. I like them with just pumpkin seeds on top, too, no fruit. Definitely make these how YOU will like them, not the way others do!

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  25. We have a family pumpkin bread recipe that we have been doing for years that is very similar to this...but we use regular flour. Last week I was making a batch and realized that I had some bananas that were going to go bad....so I used half pumpkin and half mashed bananas. It turned out great and I like the subtle change in taste. Oh...and we always put a cup of chopped pecans in ours...not crazy about dried fruit.
    slgb65 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Mary from Madison11/18/2010

    My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to add mini chocolate chipssemi-sweet or dark)and some chopped candied ginger. A bit of zing and chocolate...how fun to gild the lily!

    buchhmaATlivedotcom

    ReplyDelete
  27. My way to modify the muffins is to add craisins. I love craisins in muffins and breads.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh no! I fogot to add my email address...argh!

    maybe I can delete the other comment...my idea to modify the muffins is to add craisins 'cuz I Love them in muffins and breads.

    klharding at cableone dot net

    ReplyDelete
  29. My ideas for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins are # 1add pineapple instead of dried fruit, making them extra moist or #2, add dates that have been soaked in hot water first. I love date muffins.

    hurst underscore 41 @ yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  30. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to make it with real pumpkin! Most of the cans are actually squash :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello!

    I read this and thought YUM!
    My suggestion is to substitute the oil with applesauce, so I did!
    I made the muffins last night and am still enjoying!

    Thanks,
    Tejal - tejelly at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous11/20/2010

    My 3 1/2 year old daughter and I are making the muffins right now! (We're in the middle of the resting period.) I modified them a little by changing the spices to add ginger: 1/8 t cloves, 1/4 t nutmeg, a heaping 1/4 t ginger and 1/2 t cinnamon. I'm using currants soaked in triple sec, and I'm going to sprinkle the tops with chopped crystallized ginger and pumpkin seeds before baking. Adding some molasses could make them even more gingerbready!

    One modification that I'd love to try is to drop a blob of dulce de leche in them before baking. I have to admit, I stole that idea from a blog (wish I could remember which one) where I saw a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes made that way.

    Erika
    erikasbrunerATcomcastDOTnet

    ReplyDelete
  33. I made these muffins according to the recipe, but substituted dark brown sugar for white. The taste was delicious, but they didn't rise at all. Of course, my oven is a little tempermental and I live at sea level. I'll up the baking powder and soda and see what happens with the other half of the can of pumpkin puree.
    leslie DOT rose AT uol DOT com DOT br

    ReplyDelete
  34. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins would be to add some dried pineapple and golden raisins, and maybe some chopped walnuts. Sounds good to me!

    ReplyDelete
  35. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to add some white chocolate chips to them.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Sounds wonderful! I would add chopped walnuts and substitute some maple syrup in place of the sugar. Yum!

    nasturtium (at) fastmail.fm

    ReplyDelete
  37. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins would be to add finely chopped toasted walnut or pecan nuts to the batter. To serve as a dessert a penuche frosting would be nice.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I made the "Starbucks" version of the muffins per the recipe, only baking half of them as mini-muffins - they are delicious! My idea for modifying them next time is to replace the pecan halves with some brown sugar/cinnamon sprinkled on top.

    coajudyat Gmaildot com

    ReplyDelete
  39. My idea for modifying the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to replace the 1/4 c. oil with applesauce and add a half of banana so they are really moist.
    angela7777 at juno dot com

    ReplyDelete
  40. My variation is to get someone else to make them for you! ;) So whoever that someone is, they can have the cookbook if I win.

    (No worries folks, I'm related to the author, so I can't win.)

    ReplyDelete
  41. My ideas for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins was to use 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup amaranth flour for a flaky, slightly crunchy muffin that does not require a long rest.

    I also removed the cloves and added 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom instead, then reduced the other spices to 1/4 teaspoon since cardamom is such a strong spice.

    I also added flame raisins instead of currants or cranberries, and I doubled the amount. Flame raisins are a bit more tart than regular raisins, they are made from red flame grapes.

    Perfect Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins

    FLOUR MIXTURE
    1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
    1/2 cups amaranth flour (found at health food stores or online from bob's red mill. can sub other preferred flour instead).
    1 cup sugar
    3/4 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon table salt
    1/2 teaspoon cardamom
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

    PUMPKIN MIXTURE

    1 large egg (vegans, I would try ener-g, flax, or tofu for an egg sub in this recipe).
    1/4 cup vegetable oil
    1/4 cup water
    3/4 cup (185g, about half a 15-ounce can) canned 100% pumpkin puree

    DRIED FRUIT
    1 cup flame raisins

    Sift together the dry ingredients. Whisk the egg and then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix, until just moist. Add raisins, stir to combine, let sit for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes about 12 regular size muffins and about 18 small muffins.

    These turned out amazingly well! The amaranth flour gave them a bit of a crunch, they had a nice crust and were plenty moist inside. They left a very yummy fall taste in my mouth. This is a fantastic healthy muffin recipe!

    You can see the photo of my results on my blog, which links back to here: http://almostveganblog.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  42. oh and my email is lindsayhoppe@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous11/28/2010

    My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins was to use fresh cranberries.
    Rebel

    Reb2reb2@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  44. "My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins is to add just a little bit of chopped caramelized ginger to the batter.

    Angela
    angelanorris@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  45. My idea for modifying the Perfect Pumpkin Muffins is to swap out the white sugar for brown and DOUBLE the recipe. These are excellent! Share the baking love.

    ReplyDelete
  46. My idea for modifying the Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins is four-fold:

    Use half brown sugar
    Eliminate the cloves
    Add grated orange zest
    Add chocolate chips

    ReplyDelete
  47. I think adding butterscotch chips to this would be terrific. Could add this with brown sugar instead of white.

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  48. Anonymous11/30/2010

    I baked a batch of muffins last weekend using brown sugar and chocolate chips. My husband (and me) loves them! He's been following weight watchers for the last year (and lost 40 lbs) and he was pleasantly surprised to find out he could eat these muffins without feeling guilty. The recipe is already filed in our "keepers" box and I've passed it on to friends. What a great fall recipe!

    tbergen AT hotmail DOT com

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  49. Both these books are on my wish list so I have to respond. Honestly, I can't think of anything to do to the recipe that hasn't already been mentioned, but it looks perfect just the way it is. My email address is sarash55 at yahoo dot com.

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  50. Both these books are on my wish list so I had to enter. However, I really can't think of anything to vary the muffins that's not already been mentioned. Nuts is my favorite option, but the recipe looks really, really good as is.

    sarash55 at yahoo dot com

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  51. Anonymous11/30/2010

    Maybe make them similar to a morning glory-raisins, carrots et al.

    JMCrowley98atyahoo.com

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  52. I made these muffins and they were delicious. I used Splenda Brown sugar blend for half the sugar and added some craisins.

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  53. Just made these for Sunday morning breakfast, and I agree, they are PERFECT! Is it the rest time? Anyway, I just chunked the cream cheese up and rolled in brown sugar, then froze. Even my husband, who is "iffy" at best about pumpkin, snarfed these down!

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  54. Anonymous12/30/2010

    I made these for our KnitWits (knitting group) weekly gathering. I used half Splenda in place of the sugar and added diced dates and walnuts (chopped). The ladies loved them and all asked for the recipe. You hit this one out of the ball-park! Keep up the good work and keep them coming. Happy New Year 2011!

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  55. Gloria BF1/19/2011

    I just have to tell you that the pumpkin muffins are the BEST !!!!!!! I've ever made. And all my friends loved them too. Something about the moistness and flavour of the liqueur soaked cranberries (still have not tried the cream cheese filling).

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  56. Anonymous11/18/2012

    I have to say that these were great! Some of the best I've come across. I did make some modifications, though. I decreased the sugar by half, and I also used unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil. Of course, I was also sure to include the cream cheese topping!

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  57. Anonymous11/28/2013

    I have a question -- do you rest the batter on the counter at room temperature or put it in the refrigerator (since there are eggs in the batter)?

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  58. 606etc ~ I rest the batter at room temperature, it’s just an hour. But I think that resting in the refrigerator would work too, I’ve come to believe that the purpose of the rest is for the flour in the gluten to moisten, cold wouldn’t impede that process. Let me know!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna