Pumpkin Muffins

I love the changing seasons. I am not ready to be done with summer by any means, but at the same time, I crave fall. I can hardly wait to make soups, stews, and do all my fall baking. I started with these, and held myself back from posting them until the first day of autumn! (oh well, I just heard on the radio that the first day of fall is tomorrow...well, this is in ANTICIPATION of the first day of fall!)

These muffins are SO good. They don't have any oil or butter and rely on the pumpkin and applesauce to keep them moist. And the spices! Oh, your house will smell amazing while these are baking. I also love that this recipe makes 36 muffins so you can share with a friend, or stock your freezer for busy mornings.

First, soak the raisins in hot water to plump them up a bit. I don't know about you, but I routinely do this when I bake with raisins and craisins. Here I've used a combination of both since I didn't have enough raisins! I place the dried fruit in a large measuring cup, and then just cover them with hot water from the tap and let them sit for about 10 minutes.



In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and applesauce.



Add in the pumpkin,



and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and powder, salt and all the spices. For this recipe, I use two cups whole wheat, and the remainder all purpose, with good results.



Gradually add this to the pumpkin mixture and beat just until combined and smooth.



Drain the raisins, and stir them in.



Spoon the batter into muffin cups lined with papers or greased with nonstick cooking spray. (For low fat muffins, I prefer papers because muffins without fat tend to stick to the pan, even with generous spraying!)



Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Storing these in an airtight container overnight will help them release from the papers easily.

Ah, the smells and tastes of autumn. I can practically hear the leaves changing color now...

There are more great fall recipes at the Ultimate Recipe Swap. Get even more inspiration at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, and Tasty Tuesday.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups raisins
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1 - 29 oz. can pumpkin (or two 15 oz. cans)
4 3/4 cups flour (use 2 cups whole wheat if you have it)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Soak raisins in hot water for 10 minutes to plump.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, applesauce and pumpkin and beat until smooth. In another bowl, combine the flour and remaining ingredients. Gradually add to the pumpkin mixture and beat just until combined and smooth. Drain the raisins and stir into the batter.

Spoon batter into muffin cups lined with papers. Bake at 350 for 30-35 mintues or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 36 muffins.