Roasted Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Do you ever have one of those genius ideas while driving with the radio off? I sometimes do and as I drove along watching the leaves turn colour, seeing the pumpkins appear on verandas, while eating my apple, this little brilliant idea came to me! So naturally I had to put it all together! Another great treat for anyone in the family — double batch this one to keep in the freezer cause you’ll want to have extra on hands!  I mean, this does mark the start of the Holiday season!! So you’ll want those extra snacks on hand!

Ingredients:

• 1 Pie pumpkin, washed
• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Cinnamon, divided
• ½ tsp Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• ¼ tsp Ginger
• ¼ tsp All Spice
• 2 Cups Spelt Flour
• ½ Cup Brown Sugar, packed
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Baking apples, washed, peeled and shredded
• 1 Cup Toasted chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the pie pumpkin in half and remove seeds (reserve for roasting if you’d like). Cut the pumpkin into wedges (about 16-20 depending on the size of your pumpkin). Place in a large bowl.
2. Toss with olive oil, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and all spice and lay on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Scrape all of the marinade onto the pumpkin.
3. Roast for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before pureeing.
4. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (Be sure to change the setting of your oven from roast to bake/convection bake).*
5. While the pumpkin is roasting, combine the flour, brown sugar, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.
6. Puree the pumpkin in a food processor. Add 2 Cups to a bowl along with 2 eggs and vegetable oil. Stir well to combine.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
8. Fold in the shredded apples and walnuts and combine all ingredients.
9. Place into 24 prepared muffin tins (*I used muffin wrappers but you can lightly grease the tins with butter or oil if you’d like).
10. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

* You can toast the walnuts here if they are not toasted for about 8-10 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.