![Mouthwatering Pumpkin Apple Spiced Muffins [Vegan]](https://meloandmills.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Pumpkin-Spice-Muffins-with-Apple-and-Chocolate-Chips2-feature.jpg)
I love these vegan muffins with pumpkin, apple, spice, and chocolate chips for a little bit of fall comfort. They are moist, savoury and sweet all at the same time.
A little back story
I developed this recipe for the Mod Todd team. Have you heard of them? Mod Tod is a Montreal-based app for selling and buying secondhand kids’ clothes. Totally up my alley!
Earlier this month, I was fundraising for Indigenous students as part of Concordia University’s annual walkathon. I decided to incentivize people to give by developing a custom recipe for every donor. Donors could pick any three plant-based ingredients, and I would make something that incorporated all three. Mod Tod’s owner stepped up and made a generous gift. Thank you! She and her kids chose pumpkin, apple and chocolate as the three ingredients. Very seasonal! It was a fun exercise for me since these ingredients are not really in my wheelhouse. In the end, I think these muffins came out delicious.
Packed with pumpkin, apple and spice, these muffins are pretty satisfying without being overly sweet. You can swap the chocolate for nuts or pumpkin seeds if you prefer something a bit more savoury. They make an excellent snack for young kids and toddlers, and I take comfort in knowing there are some fruits and veggies in them.
Make your own pumpkin purée
Canned pumpkin purée would work well for this recipe, but if you have the time, I recommend that you make your own purée. Right now (October) is the height of pumpkin season so take advantage!
It’s relatively easy to roast a pumpkin and renders a lot of purée that you can use for many recipes. With a medium-sized pumpkin, you’ll get approximately three large mason jars filled with pumpkin purée. Use your remaining purée to make pumpkin soup, or try my Heartwarming butternut squash mac and cheese swapping squash for pumpkin.
Opt for sugar pumpkins or sweet pumpkins since they are sweeter and less fibrous, making them great for baking.
You can also store your purée in one cup portions in the freezer to make these muffins any time of year. I recommend freezing for a maximum of six months, but you can stretch it to a year.
Here’s how you roast a pumpkin
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 Celsius).
- Using a large knife, half your pumpkin. It’s okay if the sides aren’t equal, it can be pretty tricky to cut open a pumpkin.
- Scrape out the seeds and keep those too. You can roast the seeds for a delicious snack. Discard the stringy bits.
- Lay pumpkin over a baking tray, skin side up. Bake for 45-50 minutes until very tender when poked with a fork. I like to use a silicone liner to prevent sticking and burning of the edges when baking.
- Let the pumpkin cool, and then scrape out that yummy flesh into a large bowl. The skin should peel right off. Use a potato masher to smooth out the flesh into a purée, and that’s it. Yummy pumpkin for days!
Mouthwatering Vegan Pumpkin Apple Spiced Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tray, silicone muffin cups (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée
- 1 apple peeled and grated
- 1/3 cup plant milk
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- handful shelled pumpkin seeds optional topping
- 1/4 cup brown sugar optional topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Prepare muffin tray(s) by lightly greasing the pan, or lining with reusable silicone muffin cups.
- If working with fresh pumpkin puree, in a large bowl, mash the pumpkin until smooth.
- Stir in apple, milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, ground flax and sugar until well combined. Add baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spices and salt.
- Stir the flour, a little at a time, until all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Spoon batter into your muffin trays. Add optional toppings.
- Bake muffins for 30 to 40 minutes, checking occasionally. To check if muffins are cooked throughout, slide a butter knife into one of the muffins. It the knife comes out clean, they are fully baked.
