Healthy Eating: Pumpkin, apple and pecan for your Halloween goblins

On a recent afternoon walk, I noticed that many of the trees in my neighborhood are shedding their leaves, especially due to the recent rainstorms. While yesterday seemed summer like, today felt like autumn. For me that means soups, squash and mushroom dishes, baking bread and warm drinks. As the weather begins to cool, our diets begin to change too.

I recognize that people either love pumpkin spice season, or they don’t. Personally I think that the food industry has gone overboard with the flavor profile — especially when the pumpkin and the spice are artificially created. Do we really need Pumpkin Spice SPAM, hummus, Peeps, Pringles or marshmallows? Just search online for “Pumpkin Spice Foods” and you will be amazed at what is being created!

Nevertheless, combining pumpkin and spices in baked goods creates wonderful pies, cakes, breads and muffins for the holiday season, which officially kicks off with Halloween.

Here is a recipe that uses whole wheat flour, pumpkin, apples and spices to create a muffin that is perfect for breakfast or snacks.  These muffins are full of warming spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves) that are moist, nutritious and delicious. They come together easily and will be a welcome treat for friends, family and friendly goblins. Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins with Pecan Streusel

Yield: 16 to 18 muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 15-oz can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup neutral flavor oil (like grapeseed or canola)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups apple, cut into 1/4-inch chunks

Streusel Ingredients:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Instructions

1. 1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
   2. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 16 to 18 muffins depending on how much batter you fill each liner with, so you’ll need to line another cupcake tin as well.
   3. Make the streusel: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until it begins to clump together and is the texture of wet sand. Mix in the pecans.
   4. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, all the spices, the baking soda and salt.
   5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, pumpkin and vanilla.
   6. Fold the wet mixture into the dry and when almost all the flour is absorbed, add the apples and fold them in. Do not overmix or your muffins will be bouncy, bouncy, bouncy like Tigger. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
   7. Spoon the batter into each cup, filling it to the top. Don’t smooth the tops. We are going for craggy. Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the tops of the muffins.
   8. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. They are ready when a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
   9. Let cool.

Deborah Binder lives in Edmonds with her family. She loves to cook from scratch using produce from the gardens she created with her husband. She attended culinary school and worked for restaurants, caterers and culinary schools. Her current interest in food is learning to eat for health and wellness, while at the same time enjoying the pleasures of the table. Deborah loves experimenting and developing new recipes. As Julia Child once said, “Everything in moderation including moderation.” Deborah can be contacted at jaideborah@yahoo.com.