Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
(Sorry for being inexact--I never really measure!)

1/4 to 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup to 1 cup milk alternative
1/2- 1 fresh orange
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/4- 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice (or combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger)
1 Tbs agave nectar (a couple of dates would work, too)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Blend and enjoy! 
Grate a little nutmeg on top if you like. 
Fancy version: vegan whipped cream on top!

You can make this with almost any mixture of fruits. I happened to have mango on hand and thought the orange would really brighten it. I've also made it with just pumpkin and milk.

Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is based on the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes found in Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I made it gluten-free and substituted what I had on hand. Here's my version.

Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup of canned Pumpkin Pie Mix
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
(I used 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Mix and 1/2 cup Millet flour)
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (not needed if using regular flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Topping
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup sugar


Directions
Makes 12 muffins
Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Mix Pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk and vanilla. 
2. I sifted in the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir together with a  fork, but do not over-stir.
4. Fold in chips and nuts.
5. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full.
6. I sprinkled a little sugar and chopped nuts on top.
7. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Check with toothpick for doneness.

With these ingredients, the muffins were very moist and took forever to bake, easily 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe suggested. I made regular size muffins as well as mini-muffins, which take about half the time to bake. Don't over-fill, especially the mini muffins. They are a little crumbly and a big "muffin-top" doesn't hold up well. But eating your mistakes in this regard is not bad thing!

Next time I will reduce the oil and add some apple sauce instead.

The original recipe called for plain canned pumpkin, but all I had on hand was a canned pumpkin pie mix so I reduced the original sugar from 1 cup to 2/3. (I think I could reduce it further, either way.) And I left out the 1/2 tsp cinnamon. The original recipe also called for regular wheat flour, but I needed to make it gluten free so I used what I had left and added the xanthan gum. I also reduced the chocolate chips from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.

My family (including the finicky 9 year-old) loved these muffins as did my organizer friends at my meeting. I'm making these again very soon!

It's truly a toss-up whether these are muffins or cupcakes. I opted not to icing them, but just sprinkle some sugar and chopped nuts.