Five-Spice Peanut and Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin, nuts and spice - it's like a taste of fall! Adding peanut butter to muffin batter packs extra protein and helps keeps the muffins moist. This recipe can also make a delicious loaf; simply bake at 350°F (180°C) for an hour, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Baking time: 22 minutes
  • Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients

Topping

2 tbsp (30 mL) large flake oats
2 tbsp (30 mL) pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp (30 mL) coarsely chopped peanuts
2 tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar

Muffins

1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (175 mL) whole wheat flour
1¼ cups (300 mL) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder
1½ tsp (7 mL) Chinese five-spice powder
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened canned pumpkin
½ cup (125 mL) peanut or vegetable oil
⅓ cup (75 mL) water
2 eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
⅓ cup (75 mL) peanut butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190° C). Lightly grease a muffin pan. Combine oats, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and brown sugar in a small bowl, then set aside.

In a large bowl, stir flours with sugar, baking powder, five-spice powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk pumpkin with oil, water, eggs and vanilla. Then whisk in peanut butter. Pour onto flour mixture and stir just until combined. Mixture will be quite thick.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with topping. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Nutrition

Per 1 muffin: 320 calories, 15 g fat (3 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 7 g monounsaturated fat, 4.5 g polyunsaturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 6 g protein, 41 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre, 24 g sugars, 230 mg sodium.