Cranberry Orange Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe is easy to make, especially when tins of organic pumpkin purée are on sale. In general it’s best to avoid to avoid tinned vegetables, but pumpkin is definitely the exception, so In November and December, I stock up. It makes my heart feel good to see a dozen cans all lined up in my pantry, ready for vegan desserts and soups! And this recipe is delightful: balanced, moist, and delicious.

Prep takes 15 minutes, plus 45 minutes in the oven; this quantity makes a dozen muffins.

Ingredients:

2 large very ripe bananas
½ cup orange juice
Zest of one orange
½ cup date paste
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
½ tsp cinnamon

Method:

1.   Preheat oven to 350°F, and line one muffin pan with cupcake liners or silicon liners.

2.   Using a food processor, process the bananas and orange juice until smooth.

3.   Add the pumpkin purée, date paste, vanilla, orange zest, flax seeds and pumpkin pie spice, and process until smooth and creamy.

4.   Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the rolled oats and dried cranberries.

5.   Spoon an equal amount of the batter into the liners in the muffin tin; you’ll need about ½ cup per muffin, as these do not rise. Use a ½ cup measure or a large ice cream scoop.

6.   Toss the nuts and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle them over each muffin.

7.   Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown on top.

8.   Serve warm; if any are left over, store in an airtight tin or tightly covered with plastic wrap.

Variation: Instead of dried cranberries, use dried cherries, blueberries, or even prunes cut in half. Even better, you can also add chopped apricots, together with 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger.

And, as always, HERE is the .pdf file.