I’m obsessed with these muffins! 1) they contain pumpkin and 2) they contain maple. 3) they’re miniature – making them the perfect size for babies and toddlers. Actually, they’re the perfect size for us big kids too; two delicious bites and they’re gone.

This recipe took 3 tries to get right and the original inspiration comes from Martha Stewart. You can check it out here.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen mini muffins

Ingredients

Topping

• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 2 teaspoons maple sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Batter

• 5 tablespoons softened coconut oil (preferably deodorized), plus more for greasing the muffin pans
•  1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons maple sugar (or maple syrup, agave nectar or blackstrap molasses – just reduce the milk amount by a little)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup canned or homemade pumpkin puree
• 1/2 milk (try almond or coconut)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease mini muffin pans and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, make your muffin topping by stirring together oats, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 teaspoons maple sugar. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer or by hand, beat coconut oil and maple sugar until creamy. beat in the eggs followed by the pumpkin and milk.
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until everything is combined and batter is smooth.
6. Spoon into muffin pans, filling 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle with muffin topping and pop in the oven.
7. Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and transfer muffins to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Enjoy!

Once cooled and we’ve all had our fill of mini muffins, I like to pop these guys in the freezer and defrost a couple as needed. They freeze exceptionally well making them a great breakfast and snack food for busy days. I often serve them topped with gingery apple butter or a thin spread of almond butter.