Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

I got the book "Eating Well When You're Expecting" and it has some great recipes in it. I plan to keep using it for many years to come. Since it's fall, I was in the mood for something pumpkin-ish, and these muffins did not disappoint.

The neat thing about her baked goods is that she substitutes frozen white grape juice concentrate for the sugar, to give you some extra nutrients. The recipe used a cup of whole wheat flour and a quarter cup of ground flaxseeds. The muffins are so moist and delicious, you can't tell it's whole wheat flour, and the flaxseeds aren't noticeable at all. The only thing I didn't like was the addition of chopped dried apricots. Normally I like them, but in this recipe, they seemed jarring everytime I got a bite of one in a muffin.

Since I had some light cream cheese and leftover pumpkin, I creamed the two together with a couple tablespoons of brown sugar. I would have added some maple extract, but I was out. A bit of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon, and I had the best topping ever for my muffins.

I even had a bit of batter left over after I made the 12 muffin cups, and rather than throw it out, I thew it in a non-stick skillet and made a pumpkin pancake out of it. Turned out pretty good, although it wanted to burn on the bottom before it cooked all the way through.

I highly recommend this book just for the recipes alone.