Thursday, March 15, 2012

Rustic Pumpkin Banana Muffins


I had several bananas that were pretty ripe and I wanted to experiment with some fancy muffins. I like this recipe for several reasons. 1. They were really good. But let's be honest, I didn't know that for sure until after I made them. 2. It included wheat flour (healthy!) and oats. 3. It used applesauce to sweeten it so there isn't a ton of sugar. AND 4. I was looking for a something to make with pumpkin, so it was a win/win!

Rustic Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs (or 3 eggs whites for lower calories)
1 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 - 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C cooking oats
1/4 C Splenda
1/4 C Sugar In the Raw (you can use Stevia in the Raw for lower calories)
3 T brown sugar (or 1/4 C loosely packed)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spice)
Optional:
1/8 C pure maple syrup (if you want a sweeter muffin, but more calories)

Directions:
Beat applesauce, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and banana. Mix well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, Splenda, Sugar in the Raw, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until you get a thick batter.

Fill 12 lined muffin cups about 3/4 full with the batter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly golden and set.



Adapted from Sunday Baker

Tip: I put the batter into a ziplock bag that I cut the corner of for an easy, mess-free delivery method into the muffin pans.