Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Elena is turning into quite the culinary artist!!  And when she dons the apron, you KNOW she means business.

Take, for instance, her experiment with breakfast.

She turns an ordinary and boring breakfast of banana, toast and water...

...into a masterpiece that would make even Julia Child drool!!

Okaaaaaaay...maybe not.

But, we did get busy in the kitchen this morning to develop something drool-worthy.  I was on a bit of a baking rampage.

Giant Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

So Elena and I grabbed all the baking ware.

I used about a quarter of it and let her destroy the rest.

Then I started rummaging for ingredients and found this little surprise in my (still working) freezer!

I never labeled it though.  So the question loomed: "Animal, Vegetable or Mineral??"

It's a vegetable!!  I froze some pumpkin late last fall and it somehow got buried in the freezer.  So while I was at it, I decided to use up the Raw Turbinado Sugar I bought for some molasses spice cookies at Christmas.  I grabbed a recipe and started making some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (full recipe below)

Combine the pumpkin puree and a little water in one bowl.  And sugar, egg and oil in another.  But not just ANY old oil.  You must try Coconut Oil!!!

(I admit, all this baking was just so I could make delicious food with my "new-to-me" coconut oil!!)

Prepare the flour mixture in another bowl.

Pull out your secret weapons.

And pour the wet into the dry.

Holy MOLY these were delicious!! 

I pulled a complete Martha Stewart on my new neighbors who started moving in yesterday and brought them a few warm muffins fresh from the oven.  I forgot to wear my apron and my stiletto's when we dropped them off and may have even had a chocolate mustache.

(Some keys to a great moustache)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (Recipe adapted from here)

(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup coconut sap sugar, maple sugar, or other sweetener

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 eggs

1 cup fresh pureed pumpkin (or canned)
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.

2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.