For week #44 of my 2018 challenge to try one new whole-food plant-based (WFPB) recipe each week, I made pumpkin muffins!

It’s always a little scary when I decide to bake. That’s because I like to switch up ingredients and experiment. And with baking, this approach doesn’t always work out so well.

In this case, I was replacing eggs and milk with flax meal and coconut milk. I also wanted to use the entire can of pumpkin puree and coconut milk. (Because what was I supposed to do with the leftovers?)

This recipe took me a few tries, but I’m happy with how the final version turned out. :)

What I like about this recipe:

• My kids loved them.

• Works well for a snack or a quick breakfast.

• Makes the house smell really good!

What I ended up using/doing:

Wet Ingredients:

• One 15-oz can pumpkin puree

• One 13.5-oz can light coconut milk

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 4 Tbsp. flax meal (not really wet, but goes in with the wet stuff)

Dry Ingredients:

• 4 c. old fashioned oats

• 3 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (alternatively you could use 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. ground clove)

• 8 pitted Medjool dates

• Toppings (optional). On some of the muffins I placed three dark chocolate chips. You could also add nuts or garnish the top of the muffins with some old fashioned oats.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Spray two regular-sized muffin pans (12 muffins each) with nonstick cooking spray. If you want to avoid oil, you can use cupcake liners (see note below).

3. Combine the wet ingredients and flax meal in a bowl and mix with a spoon. Set aside. (This will allow the flax meal to take on an egg-like consistency.)

4. In a food processor, combine the first five dry ingredients. Process on high until the oats have turned into flour.

5. In the food processor, add the Medjool dates and the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Process on high until all ingredients are mixed well. (The batter will be very thick.)

6. Using a spoon, evenly distribute the batter into the muffin pans. (This recipe makes 24 standard-sized muffins.)

7. Add toppings, if desired.

8. Cook the muffins for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

9. Allow to cool.

10. Enjoy!

Note: I’m not sure if the muffins would stick without the use of cooking spray. It’s possible that the coconut milk in the batter would be sufficient to prevent sticking, especially if you’re using a nonstick pan, but I didn’t try this. I made some with cupcake liners and found that they stuck to the paper when they were warm, but not as much once they had cooled.