Vegan Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Hey Everyone, grab your pumpkin spice soy latte... it's that time of year again! That's right, it's Long-Sleeve-Sweaters-Hocus-Pocus-Pumpkin-Flavored-Everything Season!

Being inspired by the start of the fall season, I went on a search for a great sounding and looking pumpkin muffin recipe. After looking through blog after blog, I decided to go back to one of the first recipes I stumbled upon on minimalistbaker.com. The recipe mixed two of my favorite fall flavors: apple and pumpkin. I modified a few things to cut out the vegan butter and white flour, so I was a little nervous because everyone knows baking can be ingredient-specific. Thankfully my first batch came out looking and tasting great!

Ingredients:
Apple sauté:
-1 Tbsp coconut oil
-2 granny smith apples (peeled and diced)
-dusting of cinnamon

Muffin mixture:
-1 flax-egg (1Tbsp ground flaxseed + 2.5Tbsp water)
-3/4 cup pumpkin puree
-1 cup almond milk (room temp)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-2 Tbsp coconut oil (liquefied)
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/3 cup oats

Instructions:
-Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and coat the muffin tin with a thin layer of coconut oil (or you could use paper liners)

-I started out by sautéing the apples in a pan with coconut oil and a dusting of cinnamon. After they turned brown and got a little soft, I turned off the heat and set them aside.

-Next I made the flax-egg by mixing the flax meal and water in a large bowl. In the same bowl, I added the pumpkin puree, almond milk, brown sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. (Remember: all the liquids should be at room temperature to insure the coconut oil doesn't solidify.)

-In a separate bowl, I mixed the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Then I poured the dry mix in with the wet ingredients in small increments while continuing to stir. Lastly, mix in the apples and oats and spoon into the muffin tin. I topped them off with a sprinkle of oats.

*The recipe I followed yielded 12 muffins at 20 minutes baking time, but I only had a 6 cup muffin tin which required a full 25 minutes to fully bake.

I'm so excited to share my version of this recipe because I'm still a newbie in the baker's world. Nevertheless, I am proud to say these muffins are sure to please even your biggest critics- vegan or not!