Whole Wheat Pumpkin Yogurt Muffins

When muffins came on the scene in the 1980's, everyone was crazy about them. People said goodbye to donuts and cheese danish in favor of the healthy muffin.  Despite the fact that nearly every summer Sunday of much of my childhood was punctuated by my Grammy’s Wonderful BlueberryMuffins, muffins were new, exciting, healthy, and fast. They were a wonderful way to eat something that was like cake but not as decadent and seemingly healthy.  Muffins started showing up at coffee shops and bakeries in the common variety of blueberry and cornmeal but bakers were experimenting with new flavor combinations to entice consumers. The favorite muffins were lemon poppy seed, oat bran, carrot and cream cheese and banana chip. 

These whole wheat pumpkin yogurt muffins truly are healthy, they are lightly sweetened and loaded with nutrition.  These were filling and delicious and easy for my teenagers to take and eat on their way to school.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Yogurt Muffins

Makes around 1 dozen

1 ¼  cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup flax seed meal

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin purée

6 ounces plain yogurt (Greek or regular)

½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar

3 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons canola oil or oil of your choice

2 tablespoons green pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375°F

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, yogurt, brown sugar, molasses and oil. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture just until combined.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling each almost full.

Sprinkle tops with pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.

Bake until tops are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and serve, or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container up to 2 days or freeze.

Recipe adapted from Whole Foods