Whole Grain Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, buttermilk, coconut oil (or butter), brown sugar and egg until combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the center of the wet mixture and toss the blueberries right on top of the flour mixture.

Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold the ingredients together gently but quickly until just combined (over mixing might cause the muffins to be dense instead of light and fluffy). It’s ok if the batter is slightly lumpy; it will be thick.

Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners (lightly grease the paper liners, if using). Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 20–25 minutes until the tops spring back lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the tin and let cool completely on a cooling rack.

Recipe slightly adapted from a recipe sent to me by a longtime reader, Lindsey R (thanks, Lindsey!). I added nutmeg, cut down on the sugar and oil a bit.

Notes:
1. My preference when using whole wheat flour in baking recipes is to use the hard white wheat variety. Any whole wheat flour can be used but red wheat will make the muffins slightly more dense and hearty. All-purpose flour could be subbed for the whole wheat, if needed.
2. You could try using yogurt or sour cream in place of the buttermilk but I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure how it would work. Making your own buttermilk is really easy if you don’t keep it on hand. If you buy/make milk kefir, I’ve made these muffins using that instead of buttermilk, also, and it works great.
3. These were deliciously and lightly sweet with the 3/4 cup brown sugar. You could certainly try cutting back the sugar even more or substituting honey or another type of sweetener. Have fun experimenting!