As October winds down and we head into the colder weather that is a prelude to winter, it’s a good time to use the wonderful fruits and vegetables of the autumn harvest. Since the house is getting a little chillier, more baked treats are a natural. After all, the oven will help warm you up. There are pumpkins in the house for Hallowe’en and there are all those apples that you picked at the local orchard last weekend.

Apple and pumpkin pies leap to mind, but what if you don’t want to have pie for breakfast?* Here’s a recipe that combines two extraordinary tastes of fall into one warm, moist and satisfying morning treat. Pumpkin and apple compliment each other beautifully and both are packed with nutrients. Whether you add the optional raisins and nuts or not, these muffins are truly a harvest celebration on your plate.

Yield: 12 muffins 

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¾ cup Splenda® or granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

½ cup buttermilk or plain nonfat yogurt

½ cup vegetable oil

1 egg, beaten

½ cup pumpkin purée (canned is fine, but do not use pumpkin pie filling)

1 medium apple, variety of your choice

½ cup raisins (optional)

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Put paper liners into each cup of a 12-count muffin pan. If you wish, you may grease each well instead of using the paper liners.

Combine the dry ingredients, except for the cinnamon, ginger and allspice, and set aside.

Peel and core the apple, then chop into small bite-sized pieces. Mix in the buttermilk, oil, egg and pumpkin. Add the spices and blend well. If desired, stir in the raisins and/or chopped nuts.

All at once, add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin and apple mixture. Stir just until the flour is moistened. Do not over mix. If the batter is too stiff, add a little more buttermilk.

Fill the muffin cups equally and bake for 18 to 23 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean, remove them carefully from the oven and enjoy!

*Some sources claim that E. B. White penned this bit of wisdom:

To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.

To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.

To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.

To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.

To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.

And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.

That all might be true (except for the distinction of only Vermonters being Yankees) but I actually know quite a few folks who believe with every fiber of their being that pie is a perfectly acceptable breakfast, or lunch for that matter, with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 Text and Photographs Copyright © 2009  CoyoteOldStyle
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