As soon as the leaves start to turn beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow, and the air begins to cool, I start to get the urge to hole up in my cozy apartment. There's just something so peaceful about curling up on a couch and looking out at the leaves falling from the trees or listening to the rain hitting the window pane.
During this time of year, I crave the scent of cookies baking in the oven and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Egg nog lattes and peppermint mochas are the preferred drink of the season. And when I'm baking, I can't think of anything better than to cook with pumpkin.
The only trouble with holing up in my apartment is that I have no desire to leave when I discover I'm missing key baking ingredients. In the case of this morning, I found myself without any eggs.
Fortunately, I have made recipes before where I used apple sauce as a substitute for oil. This time, I decided to try to use it as a replacement for eggs. I found a recipe on the blog Smitten Kitchen and away I baked!
This recipe was quick, easy, inadvertently vegan, and delicious!
Pumpkin Muffins
Serves approximately: 12
Equipment:
Two mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
Muffin cups
Muffin tin
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup canned solid-packed pumpkin (from 15 oz can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce (The original recipe called for two eggs)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I substituted nutmeg and cinnamon)
1 cup plus 1 Tbs. white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place muffin cups in the muffin tin.
Mix together flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Blend remaining ingredients in a larger bowl, then mix in the flour and baking powder mixture.
Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!
Possible suggestions for tweaking the receipe:
- Adding apples for a little texture.
- Sprinkling tops with cinnamon and sugar like the original recipe suggested.
