When Soren turned ONE, we entered the unknown world of snacks. I’m not much of a snacker myself so to come up with diverse, colorful, nutritious snacks for the baby on a daily basis was kind of stressful for me. Fruits, vegetables and yogurt were the obvious choices but I wanted to also add some muffins, breads, scones, etc. I browsed the isles of Whole Foods and other supermarkets but couldn’t find any brand that didn’t have a long list of ingredients (some hard to pronounce). I try to stay away from foods like that. Baby crackers and snacks of all kinds have acceptable food labels but questionable nutritional value (too much of refined flours or too much sugar).
I decided to start learning to make my own breads and muffins. I’ve never been much of a baker. Firstly, the science is too precise for my impatient nature. Secondly, to bake with unrefined flours and unprocessed sweeteners is hard. Thirdly, because in my small New York apartment, the oven happens to be old and huge so to use it often with a baby roaming around is dangerous and messy (I store all my pots and pans in it). And lastly, my husband would divorce me. He actually has a sweet tooth and enjoys anything baked. The problem is he eats it all at once and then yells at me with accusations.
After a bit of talking him into it, we bought the Breville convection oven. Yes, we sacrificed the precious counter space. But it was totally worth it because now I can bake all kinds of delicious goodness from sweet potatoes to frittatas and cakes. No more excuses.
Today’s muffins are based on Cookie&Kate recipe. I love this girl’s blog. She is doing such an amazing job creating healthy and diverse foods.
I skipped salt and ginger called for in her recipe, used only 1/4 cup maple syrup. For a real breakfast treat, stick to half a cup of maple syrup.
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves
- 1¾ cups whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
- In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup together. Add eggs, and beat well.
- Mix in the pumpkin purée and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice or cloves.
- Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
- Bake at 325F for 23-25 minutes. Cool before taking out of molds.
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