Today when you do a search for a light pumpkin muffin recipe, most of what you find will be a combination of pumpkin and a cake mix.  I use the recipe for my favorite pumpkin bars so I know it’s a good one.

Still, using a cake mix always makes me wonder how many ingredients are included that I would rather avoid.  These days if you are trying to eat less sugar and less flour, it feels healthier to fix from scratch.  That brought me back to the muffins you see here.

This is a very old and dependable recipe that I first got from Weight Watchers back in the 70’s.  Would you call that vintage?

You can see from the ingredients it is a low calorie choice.  No sugar, little flour, but plenty of flavor.  They aren’t as cake like as the newer recipe, but they are satisfying, sweet and full of flavor.

The best part about them?  The stats.  That is what made these a favorite all those years ago.  If you are familiar with Weight Watchers you’ll recognize them. Even if you aren’t, you will be familiar with the food pyramid that tells how many servings of each food type we should include in our daily diets.

The entire recipe counted as 1 P (protein), 1 M (milk), 1 V (vegetable, and 1 B (bread).  That makes for a very low calorie breakfast or snack that fit easily into the Weight Watchers food count.  That would be for the whole pan of muffins.

It’s doubtful most of us would eat 10 muffins at one time, so you can either stretch them over a few days, or spread them out during the day for a sweet light snack that satisfies.  It’s so great to have something you can grab for a snack that is healthy and sweet both.

This time baking I used stevia instead of an artificial sweetener like Splenda.  That makes them healthier too.  I also substituted 1.5 teaspoons each of ginger and cloves for the pumpkin pie spice.  They still are very tasty.  Sprinkle them with a little powdered sugar if you like, or serve with a low cal margarine or jam.

The muffins travel beautifully and freeze and thaw well besides.  I usually make a double batch to use the whole can of pumpkin and to have extras in the freezer.

I made 10 muffins with this mix.  You can stretch it to 12 if you don’t mind slightly smaller muffins.

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Super Light Pumpkin Muffins

Rating  5 from 1 reviews

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 10 to 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• ⅔ cup powdered non fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 4 packages sweetener
• ¼ cup raisins (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray muffin tins very lightly with oil.
3. Combine pumpkin, eggs, and dry powdered milk.
4. Separately, combine the spices, baking soda, flour and sweetener, stirring together to mix.
5. Stir together until well blended.
6. Add raisins if you are including them.
7. Spoon into 10 to 12 of the tins.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until set.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Mystery Suspense Reviews .