Pumpkin Spice Muffins

It's autumn here in Florida and you know what that means? NOTHING. Absolutely nothing has changed. We have temps in the 90s and leaves do not change color here. So we have to do something else to mark the changing of the seasons. The solution: pumpkin spice.

I've been adding a sprinkle of pumpkin spice to my morning cup of coffee. Some folks like to light a pumpkin spice candle. And pumpkin muffins go great with a pumpkin spice latte.

I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Serious Eats website. You can go there to check out the original, but that one doesn't include chocolate chips. I find the combination of pumpkin spice and chocolate irresistible.

I used half a can of organic pumpkin pie filling that was sitting in the back of my cupboard. If you don't have this product, you can substitute a cup of pumpkin puree (canned or fresh) plus a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice mixture and a half cup of brown sugar. 

I also added about a half cup of sourdough discard, just to use it up. My hubby bakes sourdough bread and keeps the starter in the fridge. He needs to feed it weekly, to keep it healthy and robust. But every time he feeds it, he has to either make a loaf of bread or end up with some discard. I hate to see it go down the drain, so I like to throw it into any baked goods. Sourdough discard is basically flour and water that has fermented. It adds a tangy flavor, and helps to balance anything sweet. If you don't have it, just leave it out.

I made half the recipe without the chocolate chips because my mom is not a fan of dark chocolate. She will get 6 muffins with just pecans. The other 6 are for me!

Ingredients: 

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup pumpkin pie filling (see above paragraph to modify)

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 cup sourdough discard (muffins will be fine without this!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup rolled oats

1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and grease or spray muffin tins.

In large bowl, mix liquid ingredients and beat well to combine. Add the dry ingredients in order given. Be sure to incorporate well. Gentle stir in flour and chocolate chips. I saved some pecan pieces for the topping. Scoop batter into well greased muffin tins. Sprinkle pecan pieces on top. Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch. Let muffins cool in tins for 5 minutes, then continue cooling on a wire rack. Makes 1 dozen muffins.