Pumpkin Muffins

It's no secret that I love to bake, almost as much as I love to eat. It's important to me that I share my love of baking with my kids. Having three two year olds means I have to be intentional and set guidelines for how they are allowed to help in the kitchen. We've baked enough times that the trio know they must remain seated on the stool and wait their turn. They each get a whisk and measuring cup. I just go down the line and alternate adding ingredients and mixing.

Baking is such a sensory experience for me. I like to immerse myself in the smells, tastes, textures, sounds of the whisk, colors, etc. Most of all, I love that you can take ingredients that you would never eat alone, and combine them to create something that can nourish and comfort people. I let each kid smell the pumpkin pie spice and taste the pumpkin puree. (As you can see in the photo above, James was skeptical!) I slowly cracked the eggs so the trio could see the yolk inside.

Today I revised my pumpkin cupcake recipe to make a healthier muffin. Here's the recipe we used. Since I'm catering to toddlers, I always use my mini-muffin tin. You can use any size, just adjust the baking time.

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    1 tsp baking soda

    1 tsp baking powder

    1/4 tsp salt

    1 T pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon/nutmeg if you don't have pumpkin pie spice)

3. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl.

    1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

    2 T honey

    2 eggs

    1 tsp vanilla extract

    1 cup pumpkin puree

4. Add dry ingredients to mixture.

5. Fill batter 3/4 way in cupcake liners or greased tin.

6. Bake for 18 minutes for regular size cupcakes or 9 minutes in mini muffin tin.

They were a hit!