Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins
Thanks to their tender crumb, crisp-domed crust, and pockets of jammy blueberries, these muffins satisfy on a comfort-food level while still being packed with brain-healthy ingredients like pumpkin and almond.
Though pumpkin muffins are a welcome treat year-round, I especially love making these at the end of the summer when the blueberries are still plentiful and autumnal treats feel special. This recipe combines the last gasp of summer berries mingled with the first cold breeze of the fall, all wrapped up in a tender little cake.
Nudge your baking in a healthier direction
While these don’t look or taste like “healthy” muffins, the ingredient list is a roster of brain-healthy foods. As with all the recipes I create at the Brain Health Kitchen cooking school, my goal is to flood your brain with nutrient-dense foods that taste amazing, too. These muffins will nudge your baking in a healthier direction by cutting back on refined sugar, adding in flours made from nuts and whole grains, and emphasizing brain-friendly fats.
Extra-virgin olive oil packs in brain-friendly fats
The fat profile shifts from mostly saturated fat (in the standard butter-infused batter) to one that’s more brain-friendly (using extra-virgin olive oil). While butter is not off the table in a brain-healthy diet, I recommend enjoying it sparingly (less than one tablespoon per day based on the MIND diet study.) Extra-virgin olive oil, on the other hand, is a brain-healthy food group of its own. High-quality olive oil provides the type of fats your brain loves (the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated ones), and gives these muffins a nice savory note to balance the sweetness of the berries.
Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index
Instead of white cane sugar, you’ll use coconut palm sugar (sometimes just called palm sugar) because it has a rich, caramel-like flavor that achieves the same sweet effect with a smaller amount. This type of sugar has a lower glycemic index than refined white cane sugar, which means it is less likely to spike blood sugar levels, something we know is bad for metabolic health and long term brain health.
A fiber-rich muffin that doesn’t taste “healthy”
All sugar can be inflammatory to blood vessels and brain cells, though, so whenever I bake with sugar I make sure to also add plenty of fiber to slow down the sugar’s absorption. Besides getting fiber from the pumpkin and the berries, you’ll get even more fiber into your muffins by using a combination of almond and oat flours, along with a spoonful of ground flaxseed, also a great source of omega-3s. This keeps the muffins gluten-free for those allergic or sensitive to wheat, while providing nutty flavor and a good dose of vitamin E. Hemp seeds (also called hearts, since they’re the edible interiors from the seed hemp grows from) provide even more fiber, omega-3 fats, minerals, and a nice, nubby texture as well.
Of course, when the farmers markets are over, you can make these muffins with frozen blueberries, too. Blueberries and other purple, red, and black berries are scientifically proven to slow down the aging of your brain. Healthy adults who eat at least two half-cup portions of blueberries each week perform better on cognitive tests and have a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Berries are packed with flavonoids, a plant nutrient proven to be important for a brain-healthy diet. Anthocyanin, the flavonoid that makes blueberries blue, is actually thought to prevent the deposition of amyloid protein in the brain, a harbinger for Alzheimer’s disease.
This recipe was developed in collaboration with Annie Fenn @BrainHealthKitchen and @NeuroReserve for their Brain Table—a resource for delicious recipes with neuroprotective powers.
Prep Time | 10 minutes |
Cook Time | 40 minutes |
Servings |
muffins
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- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¼ cup hemp seeds (also called hemp hearts) plus 1 tablespoon to top the muffins
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree from a can
- ⅔ cup coconut palm sugar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen (don't defrost)
Ingredients
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- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat and almond flours, ¼ cup of the hemp hearts, the baking powder, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, olive oil, vanilla, and almond extracts. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones until just combined.
- Gently fold 1⅓ cups of the blueberries into the muffin batter. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
- Divide the remaining ⅔ cup blueberries over the tops of the muffins and gently press them into the batter. Sprinkle with the additional tablespoon of hemp hearts.
- Bake for 38 to 42 minutes for standard muffins, or until a cake tester or small wooden skewer inserted into muffins comes out clean. For mini muffins, check for doneness starting at 32 minutes.
- These muffins are best the day they are made or the next day. Warm day-old muffins in the oven at 300ºF for 10 minutes. To freeze, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
These muffins are best the day they are made or the next day. Warm day-old muffins in the oven at 300ºF for 10 minutes. To freeze, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Note: To make these muffins whole-wheat/almond instead, swap in 1 cup whole-wheat flour for the oat flour, and omit the ground flaxseeds.
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