Pumpkin Cappuccino Muffins

Who doesn't like a good muffin with a cup of coffee? One of the big hits with my group of friends this past Fall was the 'Bucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte, which had no pumpkin but almost 50 grams of sugar and 13 grams of fat! And that's just for the drink itself - those who had some "breakfast" with their cuppa in the form of a slice of pumpkin bread or a festive pumpkin scone wound up with an extra 300-400 calories on the side. Of course, making your own drink is almost always a healthier, not to mention more flavourful option (and a cheap, simple thing to do), so why not extend the same courtesy to the bakery section?

With a can of pumpkin sitting in my pantry from God knows how long ago (likely Thanksgiving), I was casting about for snack ideas and came across Cookin? Canuck's recipe for a "Pumpkin Spice Latte" muffin. I never would have thought to mix the spices of pumpkin pie with coffee anyways (I found the whole "latte" thing a bit odd), but in a muffin it somehow just worked! Without any espresso powder on hand, I started to improvise matters. Espresso became French vanilla cappuccino mix, whole wheat flour turned into triticale, a punch of flax helped replace the egg, and the sugar got cut back with the addition of a xylitol blend. Discovering my mom had finished off the Greek yogurt in the house but that we had a half container of low fat sour cream, it was a no brainer to switch that out too. In the end, the muffins were decadent to call dessert, but still wholesome enough to ease the guilt after one too many coffee shop drinks!


PumpkinCappuccino Muffins
Makes9½cup low fat sour cream1/3cup 1% milk2tbsp canola oil1tsp vanilla extract6(1.8 g) packets xylitol (I used NOW Xylitol Plus) or ¼ cup sugar½cup brown sugar1½ tbsp instant French Vanilla cappuccino powder (I used Tim Hortons) plus 1tbsp for topping1½ cups triticale or spelt flour1tsp baking soda1tbsp ground flaxseed¼tsp salt2tsp pumpkin spice

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and grease or line 9 muffincups.
2. In a bowl, beat together the sour cream, milk, oil,vanilla, xylitol, brown sugar and cappuccino powder until well combined.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until combined(do not beat).
4. Spoon into the muffin cups and sprinkle with reservedcappuccino mix.
5. Bake 25 minutes. Turn out of the pan immediately and coolon a wire rack.

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