Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Entering the season of sugar


With Halloween coming up, I know I'm going to encounter more sweets than usual over the next few months. However, I will prevail, armed with a high-fiber veggiecentric diet.

To make matters a bit worse, I've been put in charge of the Halloween charity bake sale at work. People go crazy for the bake sale, scarfing down chocolate cake at 9 am. My plan is to bring healthy, breakfast-suitable alternatives, such as these pumpkin muffins (and Monika, it's the recipe you've been waiting for!).

Pumpkin Oat Muffins

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned style)
1 egg (or replace with 2 tablespoons flaxseed plus 1 tablespoon water)
1 egg white
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup soymilk
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans are best)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whirl the oats in a blender or food processor until they reach the consistency of cornmeal and then add them to the flour mixture. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg and egg white together (or mix the flaxseed and water). Stir in the pumpkin puree, soymilk, pineapple juice, oil, and brown sugar. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups and dot the center of each muffin with a small spot of apricot preserves. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

3 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

That pumpkin looks like it overindulged in Halloween candy!

Monika K said...

Wahoo! I've just opened a new can of pumpkin (see my blog for a cookie recipe with lots of sugar...) and was wondering about this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

mmm, pumpkin oat muffins are fabulous for the autumn season!! yum!!

I read your comment on my blog - haha, I agree about being able to cook it for much less, but sometimes it's nice to let others do the cooking; and hey, the more vegan dishes that chefs are willing to prepare at restaurants, the better, in my opinion!! :0)