Autumn baking is officially on, baby. The days are getting chilly and windy but still sunny enough to score a tan during mid-day swims, and the honeycrisp apples, pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon are begging to be put to use. 

The Vitamix is officially all packed up and ready to be sent back to Headquarters, so my Kitchen Aid mixer stood there on my countertop all alone, looking longingly at me with her sad eyes. I caved.

I usually follow recipes exactly, just since I feel like I barely paid attention in food science class, and the whole ingredient-substitution thing can be overly complicated. But today, perhaps it was the weather, or a false sense of confidence catalyzed by the fact that I had accomplished 75% of the things on my to-do list- well, I was feeling ballsy. Which meant that I substituted quite anything and everything that I could, in order to make these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins more healthy, in true 'dietitian' nature.

Flax eggs? Bring it on. (For the record, it's just 1 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water. It makes an egg-like consistency, for vegan recipes). I swapped coconut sugar for brown sugar, and used coconut oil instead of canola oil. 

I'm learning that cooking, baking, whatever; it's all a craft of its own sort. It's a moving meditation, an art, a tender practice of intending, intuiting, stirring and creating something beautiful that wasn't there before. Try it for yourselves.

VEGAN PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 flax egg
• 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
• 1 cup almond milk + 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Prepare flax egg by mixing flax meal and water in a cup- let rest for 5 minutes until it thickens
3. Add wet ingredients together and stir. Then, add salt, baking soda and powder, and cinnamon and whisk.
4. Carefully place flours into a sifter and add to wet ingredients and stir.
5. Add chocolate chips and stir.
6. Spoon into paper-lined muffin tins and bake for 22-25 minutes or until fluffy and golden brown.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container or bag.

And there you have it. A delicious and healthy muffin to start off the fall season. Happy baking.