Just Baking

Being that my children are typical American kids, they will grab potato chips or a bowl of ice cream before an apple or whole wheat crackers and cheese as soon as they walk in the door after school. To avert the impending nutritional disaster, I like to have a snack ready for them to make healthy eating a little easier.  A few quick solutions are fruit kebabs, graham crackers with cream cheese, pretzel sticks speared into cheddar cheese cubes, and spinach dip (made with the low-fat varieties of sour cream and mayonnaise) with cut-up carrots and celery. I like to have a healthier version of a cookie, cake, or muffin on hand also.

Experimenting with one of my muffin recipes, I discovered that I am able to make about 3 dozen mini muffins in less than an hour. I adapted a recipe for pumpkin muffins that contained white flour, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 11/2 cups of sugar to a healthier version.  My Pumpkin Applesauce Mini Muffins are made with white whole wheat flour, pumpkin, unsweetened applesauce, and pineapple and offer a more wholesome alternative to prepackaged, store-bought mini muffins. Having a batch ready will help your kids eat a more balanced diet.

Pumpkin Applesauce Mini Muffins

makes 36 mini muffins

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened

1/4 cup crushed pineapple

3/4 cup pumpkin, canned

2 eggs

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, pineapple, pumpkin, and eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir just to combine. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of the batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes.  Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes then remove to a baking rack.  Dust with powdered sugar.