No, Hell Didn't Freeze Over - That Was Just Me Baking

That's right folks. I baked today (and if you know me you are wondering when the body snatchers came and took over). In fact I baked up some pretty tasty pumpkin, cranberry and pecan muffins! AND they were organic (well except for the brown sugar) and only 140 calories! I am actually pretty proud of myself because they came out nice and fluffy even though they have no butter or oil! I used apple sauce instead of oil and the pumpkin puree adds a nice amount of moisture. And even though they were only a 140 calories each, they were not void of taste! I substituted maple yogurt for buttermilk, and it had lots of yummy spices and a decent amount of brown sugar. They have a nice pumpkin spice flavor with a tart cranberry thrown in here or there. I may make some small modifications next time (like soak the craisins in OJ for a little bit and actually remember the vanilla extract), but for a first go - they were pretty good. I can only imagine how awesome they would be with cream cheese frosting. But alas, that would make them very un-diet friendly.

So if you are wondering - here is the recipe!

1 1/2 cups`organic oat bran pancake and waffle mix
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (or vegetable oil, if you're not calorie counting)
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk ( I used 6 oz maple yogurt instead)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 400 and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in spices.

In a separate bowl, beat egg with brown sugar until well combined. Mix in egg and combine. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, applesauce and pumpkin puree.

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in nuts and raisins.

Pour mixture into muffin cups and bake approximately 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The real taste test will be tonight when I make my honey try one!

Ok - off to find those body snatchers to get my body back...