Source: The Minimalist Baker
http://minimalistbaker.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/
Time: 40 minutes
Ease: 2
Taste: 5
Leftover Value: 5
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Down the Drain*
*With my adjustments, it becomes Keep it in the Strainer!
During fall, I jump on the pumpkin bandwagon just like the rest of the world.* In fact, you might remember how I became a little obsessive with pumpkins last year. This year, time hasn't lent itself for me to make my own pumpkin puree.
*Note: Except for Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte (currently being trendily called "PSL"). For some reason, I not only dislike the PSL, I strongly dislike it. I drink pumpkin coffee and lattes other places, but my beloved Starbucks has not met with my satisfaction on this one.*
*Note to the note: I'm really sorry about this. Please don't judge me.
The season is still young, yet this unfortunate lack of time means that I've been using this stuff:
I've been bookmarking and dog earring tons of pumpkin recipes from magazines and the bazillion blogs that I follow. I've also been concocting a few of my own--hello, pumpkin scones!
My first pumpkin choice came out of necessity. There was nothing to eat for breakfast in my house and I decided chocolate chip pumpkin muffins would be the perfect choice.
The blog I got the recipe from is one I started following recently. While it was obvious before she even stated it that these are "vegan" muffins, I knew I would be making adjustments so that these muffins would work in my normal world kitchen.
For example, she uses a "flax egg" which is made from flax seed meal and water. Well, flax seed meal is expensive, and I happen to always, always have eggs on hand.
Therefore, adjustment to the recipe #1: "flax egg" replaced with chicken egg.
I have had these dainty measuring cups hanging around in my kitchen for years now. I bought them a little before I started the Orange Strainer but never had the nerve to dirty them. Then the dust in my kitchen found them and I decided they would be better used measuring food than measuring the dust.
The second adjustment to this recipe came right after the first. It called for almond milk with 1 T of lemon juice which is basically just homemade buttermilk, except for the fact that they are using almond milk.
Are you confused? Because I certainly am.
I used 1% milk to make buttermilk.
Oh boy.
Next, making sure that each of my four dainty cups was able to be used for this recipe, some brown sugar needed to be thrown in. So far, the only normal part of the recipe.
If you're feeling particularly pretentious, grab your grape seed oil (seriously?) and pour in 2 T.
Since I can't imagine grape seed oil truly making a world of a difference in pumpkin muffins, I went with the good old fashioned canola oil that was hiding under my sink.
Add a splash of vanilla. Whisk together everything you've put in so far. Then sprinkle in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk again until the mixture looks like this:
Now for the adjustment to this recipe that not only saves money, it actually makes it taste better. The recipe calls for what I call a 50/50 flour mixture. Meaning, you're trying a little bit to be healthy by using whole wheat flour, but you're also being a little naughty by using, gasp, white flour.
I've tried it this way, and it gives the muffins a deliciously cardboard type flavor.
Yum?
No.
Exactly.
Swap out the 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour for more white flour. Save the whole wheat nonsense for another recipe on another day. Your taste buds will thank me.
Regardless what kind of flour you choose to use, sift the flour directly into the pumpkin mixture. This is awesome because it leaves you only using one mixing bowl. (Not counting the sifter, the measuring cups, and measuring spoons).
Toss in 1/3 cups of chocolate chips. I only had mini chocolate chips, so that's what I used. Personally, I would prefer the regular sized ones.
Also, I personally wanted more than 1/3 cup of chocolate chip as you can see by my cup which I filled to overflowing.
I used an ice cream scoop to fill my muffin cups. The first time I did only one scoop and managed to fill 18 cups. I wasn't too happy with their size.
Nothing says muffin like a muffin top, which sadly, this is lacking.
My second time around I filled the cups with a scoop and a half, filling only 12 muffin cups. Then I did this:
You really can't have chocolate chip muffins, even if pumpkin is the main attraction, without a healthy sprinkling of chocolate chips on top.
Much better. I think using the mini chocolate chips here makes for a much more inviting muffin.
With my adjustments, these muffins were worthwhile. They were still not drop everything you're doing and do the happy dance delicious, but definitely worth making again.
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