vegan pumpkin cranberry walnut muffins

Leftover pumpkin puree, fresh cranberries, plus a few pantry staples can easily be mixed and baked into something yummy. I don't mind having Thanksgiving leftovers of these two fall super star ingredients, because I can turn them into a delicious breakfast or afternoon treat. 

I'm still on my vegan train, so I searched for the best vegan pumpkin muffin recipe to make. I found a recipe from PPK which after a little personal taste tweaking, these muffins were so tasty that I've almost convinced a few more people to be vegan. Almost.

If you're not a fan of cranberries or walnuts, just leave them pumpkin. I added cranberries to my recipe and they gave a little surprise burst of tartness in almost every bite. I also threw in some chopped walnuts because something crunchy is always good in my book.

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut Muffins
slightly adapted from the recipe on PPK's blog
make 12 muffins

1 cup all-pupose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour ***Or all-purpose flour***
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg***Freshly grated if you can.***
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon all spice
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar ***Light brown sugar is OK too.***
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh cranberries - reserved 12 berries for the top of the muffins
1/2 cup walnuts - roughly chopped - reserve 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour/s, baking powder, kosher salt and all of the spices. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree and dark brown sugar. Add the soy milk, vegetable oil, molasses and vanilla. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and gently fold together. Try not to over mix/fold your batter because it will overwork the glutens in the flour and your muffins will be tough. Stop mixing/folding a little before all of the ingredients are incorporated. Toss in your cranberries and walnuts and gently fold into your batter.

With a large scoop, divide batter into your lined muffin tin. Top each muffin with your reserved cranberries and sprinkle with reserved walnuts.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick/tester comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin. Cool completely on wire rack or devour when still warm.