Where I live, summer lasts about 3 months, winter lasts at least 6 months, and spring and fall are short and fleeting. Fall is my favorite season, except for the part where it’s a harsh reminder that a long, dark winter is ahead. For that reason alone, I sometimes dread the beginning of fall.

The other day when I made these healthy pumpkin muffins, a lovely chain of reactions occurred. It reminded me of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie books.  If you give a mom a healthy pumpkin muffin recipe…

She will make it and let her kids pour in the ingredients and everyone will soon become intoxicated with the divine smell of pumpkin and fall spices filling the air. The kids will start playing nicely with each other because they’re hypnotized with the smell of love.

All will suddenly feel right with the world and it will make her want to put on some beautiful music. Have you heard this?

Beautiful! I downloaded the whole album years ago and can’t believe he offers it free here.

Pumpkin muffins and hauntingly beautiful music will make mom think “Wow I would feel 100% relaxed right now if only the dishes were done,” so she will do the dishes as quickly as possible so they stop nagging her.

Feeling 100% relaxed and stress-free, she’ll call her kiddies over to the couch for cuddles.

She’ll be filled with love and appreciation for the changing season, her family, and have the peace of mind that comes from feeding her children great nutrients for their growth and immune system.

She’ll have one of these way-too-rare days where she feels like supermom.

And all because someone gave a mom a pumpkin muffin recipe.

1 cup blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cloves
½ cup roasted pumpkin (you can roast your own and puree it, or use BPA-free canned–NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons raw honey
¼ teaspoon stevia
3 large eggs

In a mixer or food processor, combine the first 6 ingredients well. Then add the pumpkin, honey, stevia and eggs. Mix again until well-incorporated. Scoop muffin batter into muffin tins and bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes. Allow to cool and serve.

Note: I put these straight in the muffin pan without cupcake liners and had a bit of a hard time getting them out. I recommend using cupcake liners. You can also use this recipe to make pumpkin bread, but you MUST use a “mini” loaf pan or the batter won’t rise properly.