Two Lil' (vegan) Pumpkin Muffins Sittin' on a Plate..

Two lil' Pumpkin Muffins sittin' on a plate. One got devoured, and then there was one.

One lil' Pumpkin Muffin sittin' on a plate. He got gobbled up, and then there were none!

..None until you make more.

Fall in love with my two cozy recipes for vegan pumpkin muffins: Cream-Topped Pumpkin Muffins and Spiced Up Pumpkin Muffins. These muffins bake up fluffy, velvety and moist. Bake them this weekend!..

Perfect Weather for... It was a drizzly, gray-skyed, melancholy morning here in NYC. Gloomy weather to venture outside in, but perfect weather for pumpkin muffin baking! So it began..

I made two varieties (Spiced Up & Cream-Topped):

Spiced Up. My spiced up muffins add a hint of cayenne and an extra dose of orange zest and pumpkin seeds. These muffins are my choice in the morning. For extra spice, add in ½ teaspoon of grated fresh ginger.

Cream-Topped. My cream-topped muffins have a silky layer of sweet vegan cream cheese/vanilla yogurt blend drizzling over top, and baked inside the muffins.

I enjoyed both varieties and will definitely be making these again this fall!

One goal I had with the spicy muffin was that I wanted to create a muffin that rivaled Le Pain Quotidien's Pumpkin Muffin (which is not vegan - most of their delicious muffins are vegan). And if you've ever seen Le Pain's Pumpkin Muffin, I think I did a pretty good job replicating it.

Cozy weekend activity: pumpkin muffin baking. Give it a whirl...

Recipes Variation Instructions: The basic recipes are the same, except for a few variations. Here they are:

1) For Spiced Up Muffins: Add ½ teaspoon cayenne and an extra ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter. Also fold in an extra teaspoon of orange zest - and a pinch on top of each muffin before baking. Add an extra sprinkle of roasted pumpkin seeds on top as well.

2) For Cream-Topped Muffins: Make a "Cream Mixture" with ¼ cup vanilla soy yogurt + ¼ cup soy cream cheese + 1 tablespoon maple syrup + pinch of salt. Whip until smooth and creamy. When you are pouring the batter into each muffin cup, drizzle a bit of the cream in layers with the batter. Then add a generous dollop right on top of each muffin before baking. You can even sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top for another sweet hint of flavor.

The base batter of each muffin is the same and shown below..

Kathy's Fall Pumpkin Muffins
vegan, makes 12 muffins

2 cups flour (I used Whole Wheat 'white' baking flour)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
dash of cinnamon
dash of cayenne (optional)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup cinnamon applesauce
2 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoon vegan buttery spread, melted
15 oz Pumpkin Pie Mix, organic
*since the pp mix is sweetened, there is no need to add additional sugar
1 cup plain soy milk
¼ cup roasted/salted pumpkin seeds
topping: extra pumpkin seeds (see above specifications for each variety of muffin)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl. Blend together.

2. Add in all remaining ingredients, fold well by hand. Stir until batter becomes smooth. This pumpkin-y batter has a dense body to it.

3. Add in or prep your toppings for whatever variety of muffin you are making (directions above recipe).

4. Line 12 muffin tins with paper or lightly grease the inside of each tin.

5. Pour batter to almost fill each muffin tin. If you are making the cream-topped muffins, pour batter in layers: spoonful of batter, a drizzle of cream in the center, then more batter on top, then a final dollop of cream.