Pumpkin Pie Muffins: A fall recipe for you!

Yup.  This is just for you.  An autumn recipe that makes your house smell fantastic and is actually good for you.  Here it is, for your eyes alone.  No one else except the World Wide Web.  We are keeping this between you and me.The above is no exaggeration.  This recipe will make your house smell just like the front of the fall issue of the Pottery Barn catalog looks.  It basically makes you want to dress like a pilgrim and dole pumpkins out to your neighbors.  The fact that it may remind you of pumpkin pie (hence the happy feeling) is irrelevant.
I actually make these year round.  They taste so fantastic and are so good for you, why limit yourself to a season?  As a matter of fact, when canned pumpkin goes on sale during the holidays I stock up.  Like, my purchase of cans goes well into the double digits.  In the fall, when sugar pumpkins are everywhere, I prefer to just bake my own, scoop out the flesh and keep it in the fridge to cook with, but during the off season, canned pumpkin is a great substitute.  Pumpkin is incredibly good for you with more potassium than a banana and more Vit A than carrots.  The high potassium make these a great snack before or after you exercise.  These muffins are light, fluffy, and full of flavor.  Don’t be intimidated by the length of the ingredient list.  A lot of it are the warm spices that help make them so irresistible.  This batch makes a lot of muffins so don’t forget to freeze those which you won’t eat right away.  Although I can guarantee they won’t last long.  They are so moist, these muffins are nearly cake-like in texture. Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
To make your own mashed pumpkin, cut a small, baking pumpkin in half from stem to stem and clean the seeds it out with a spoon.  Lay the two halves cut side down on a sheet pan covered with foil or parchment paper.  Bake at 350 until you can easily pierce the sides with a knife without resistance.  Let cool slightly and scoop the flesh away from the shell into a separate bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork.  Store in the fridge for several days and use just like you would canned pumpkin!  Here is a step by step!

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add:
1/2 c canola oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c molasses
1 can (2 c) solid-packed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
Mix well, scraping down sides if necessary.  In a separate large bowl, whisk together:
2 c flour
2 c white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Measure out 1 1/2 c low fat buttermilk and with the mixer running alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, ending with buttermilk.  Mix just until combined, stirring by hand at the end to make sure the sides and bottom is scraped clean. Bake in paper muffin cups or a sprayed muffin pan at 400 degrees for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.