FAT-FREE PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Each year the official start of "Pumpkin Season" begins when Starbucks debuts their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. And thanks to the coffee company, Pumpkin Season is beginning a week earlier this year. 

I try not to be a total "girly girl" and squeal with excitement over the thought of those warm, frothy drinks, but truth be told I like pumpkin just as much as the next person.

So in honor of the beginning of the most glorious time of the year, I'm sharing with you my favorite pumpkin muffin recipe. Believe it or not -- it's FAT-FREE! The fat free vanilla yogurt is the perfect healthy substitute for the butter and oil normally found in muffin recipes. Additionally, the yogurt and the pumpkin filling make these muffins incredibly moist!

So try this recipe as the perfect sidekick to your first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year!

FAT-FREE PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Yield: 18 muffins

Calories per serving: 115 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 and 1/2 cup flour

·      1 teaspoon cinnamon

·      1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

·      1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·      3 egg whites

·      1 and 1/2 cup sugar

·      1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt

·      1 cup pumpkin

DIRECTIONS

1.     Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

2.     Pour flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and baking powder into bowl and set aside

3.     Whisk together egg whites, sugar and yogurt in large bowl

4.     Stir in 1 cup pumpkin

5.     Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and stir just enough to combine

6.     Line a muffin tin with liners

7.     Pour mixture into liner 2/3 full

8.     Place muffin tin in oven and bake for 5 minutes

9.     Then while muffins are still in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 8 minutes

10. Remove from oven and let cool

The batter will be very thick.

Try to fill each tin with the same amount of batter

The muffins even look like little pumpkins!

By starting the oven temperature high and then reducing it, you get the perfect bakery-style muffin tops

I can't get over how moist and dense these muffins are!