fall break = fall baking

i'm on fall break--meaning i've had no classes friday through tuesday.  can you tell?  i have time to cook/bake/blog??

i get a little nervous every time i walk past the library and see it full of peeps studying while i spend a little qt with my still "new" hubby.  but if i were intended to work the whole time, they'd call this long weekend "reading days" instead of "fall BREAK" right?

and so jay and i made pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins for breakfast.
i borrowed the recipe from fitsugar and then made it my own, as everyone should when baking!

ingredients we used

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup organic brown sugar + 1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 15oz can pumpkin
3 tablespoons apple sauce
one egg + one egg white
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

how to make 'em

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line muffin tin with muffin cups.
2. mix dry ingredients in large bowl
3. mix wet ingredients in medium bowl
4. add wet stuff to dry stuff and fold in chocolate chips and walnuts
5. fill up muffin cups and bake 18 minutes

made 15 delicious (and pretty darn healthy) muffins

here is our "oven" which doubles as a micro-wave.  (or it's a micro-wave that doubles as an oven).  it is very space efficient!  it does not toast or broil though.  and you can't fit multiple things in it, so you have to plan ahead.  we are learning to make it work!

things i learned: we're out of agave, oops!  i meant to use agave instead of sugar/honey.  also, i like to use apple sauce as a substitute for oil.  because we have the world's smallest fridge and can't be storing apple sauce at all times, i bought those mini apple sauce servings you would throw in your lunch bag.  they don't have to be refrigerated, and they're usually about the same amount as what you'll need for baking anyway (1 cup).  also, if you eat these muffins right out of the oven, you are bound to get some melted chocolate on your face.  mm hmm. 

thoughts for next time: the muffins stuck to the paper cups a little--alicia recommended a recipe that suggested spraying cups with coconut oil first?  i need to learn more about coconut oil!