Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe has been much anticipated by all. Myself included. Tis Pumpkin Season ya'll!! So get excited. There's just something about Sept 1st. It's pumpkins and fall colors. But in Texas it's also still hotter than Hades. But alas, we still swap our closets over to flannel and cute booties and sip our Pumpkin Spice Latte's while sweating profusely. It's just what we do. Post Labor day means-- we really get serious about Fall. And how could I forget...FOOTBALL. In Texas football is everything. Especially in small town USA. I have a dear friend who moved to Utah a couple years ago. She's been posting on IG about cooler sweater wearing weather. And I am pretty green with envy. Sweater weather-- what's that like? Hurry cooler temps-- We are ready!

So here we are. September. And it's time for Pumpkin everything. Last year I stumbled upon this Chocolate Pumpkin Bread and new instantly that I would, indeed be making this treat a lot. In muffin form, of course. Mostly because I am way too impatient to wait the 40-50 minutes the bread requires. It quickly became a family favorite, loved by all and requested quite often. So this year, I knew what my go-to pumpkin muffin would be. But I had to change things up a bit with the recipe. This summer I took part in a nutrition program called #shred10. It was life changing. You know that saying, "Abs are made in the kitchen..." Well, they aren't lying. Whoever "They" are. Food and nutrition is foundational when it comes to fitness. You can workout till the cow's come home, but without proper fuel your efforts are in vain. Bummer, right? So I got really serious about my nutrition and joined 10 other ladies to rock this thing called #shred10. It was 10 days. 1 weekend. And it transformed my health journey. I thought I had tapped out-- I worked out regularly and ate clean 90% of the time. So that was as good as it was going to get. I was very happy with my weight. I could honestly careless what that scale says. #worthmorethananumber I just want to be freaking strong. And fit. And HEALTHY. And this challenge was just what I needed. Bye toxins. Hello, muscles. Let's just say more than just fat was shredded. But that's a whole other blog post. Stay tuned for that one.

You might be asking yourself...What does this have to do with Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins?

Well, everything. I knew if I wanted to enjoy chocolate pumpkin muffins while #shredding I would need to tweak this recipe quite a bit. So that's what I did. And now they are #shredapproved  Even if you are not shredding, you'll still want in on this recipe because simply put-- it's freaking good.

It's like a muffin and brownie had a baby. #nuffsaid

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins 
Makes about 12-15 muffins
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce (room temp or warmed a little)
2/3 Cup Honey
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Organic Pumpkin Puree (Canned)
1 Heaping Cup Oat Flour (directions on this below)
2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Almond Milk
A Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar
Hand full (or two) of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (dairy and gluten free)

Preheat your oven to 350. Line or grease your cupcake pan.

First, you need to make your oat flour if you don't have any on hand. I just take gluten free rolled oats and pulse in my blender until turned into a powder form AKA Oat Flour. Yes, it's that easy and quick.  

In a large mixing bowl, mix coconut oil and apple sauce together well. Add honey. Then add the eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix until all are combined. In a small bowl mix the almond milk and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: Oat flour, Cocoa, Salt, Baking Soda, Powder. Then slowly mix your dry ingredients into your wet. And then fold in your almond milk mixture until well incorporated. Lastly, throw in your chips and gently fold into mixture. Fill your cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way. Cook at 350 for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then remove from oven, but let sit in the pan for about 5-7 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and let cool.

I can't tell you how long these will keep because they literally last less than 24 hours at my house before being devoured. Make more than one batch. Trust me.

Shred on, my friends. And if you are not shredding-- You should. Give me a holler. I'll hook you up.