I love fall. I love the break from the 100 degree days. I love the crunch of leaves under my feet as I walk my oldest to school. I love the hint of winter that floats in the cool, crisp breeze. I love back-to-school supplies, Halloween, pumpkin patches, and snuggling under piles of blankets in bed. But, most of all, I love pumpkins.

Pumpkin, to me, is the perfect fall flavor. When I taste it, I taste fall and I will take fall in any form I can get: muffins, breads, lattes. You can bet, then, that I was ecstatic to find this recipe on Allrecipes.com. It combines two of my favorite fall experiences: pumpkins and the use of our many apples from apple picking.

I used my magic modification skills and came up with an even healthier version of this recipe:

Laura’s Apple-Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour OR  a combination of white and whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon flax seed

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs

1 cup canned or cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup applesauce OR oil

2 cups apple, peeled and shredded

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease well.

2. Sift together the flours, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, flax seed and sugar into a large bowl. Add the shredded apple. (I shred the apple right into the bowl.) Set aside.

3. In a smaller bowl, add the eggs and beat lightly. Add the applesauce/oil and pumpkin. Mix well.

4. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just mixed. Spoon into the muffin tins.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

Topping: I added an optional streusel topping of 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons white flour, and four teaspoons cold butter. Mix the ingredients in a small bowl, using your fingers to cut and crumble the butter together. Sprinkle over the muffins before baking.

When I used whole wheat flour, I used a half and half mixture of applesauce and oil to make it a little more moist.

Makes: 18-24 regular muffins

Photo Credit: naneki