Recipe from Chef Maury Rubin of City Bakery in N.Y., slightly modified by Shu-i. This muffin is now known as the muffin Marissa bakes for Scholastic Bowl bus rides.
3/4 cup oat flour (or finely grind old-fashioned rolled oats)
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup almond meal, 1/4 cup coconut flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (remove lumps)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
(If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, substitute last 2 items with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, & 1/4 tsp all spice)
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
3/4 cup plain or vanilla whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
Optional: 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (or 10 pitted prunes coarsely chopped), golden raisins
Preheat the oven to 350º. Lightly coat the inside of a standard-size 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line the muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix/whisk the dry ingredients until well blended (oat flour, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, & spices).
Mix the pumpkin puree & yogurt (optionally puree with prunes in a food processor if using prunes). Add the oil, egg, and applesauce. Combine well.
(Optional, mix chocolate chips with dry ingredients.) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add the pumpkin mixture to the well. Gradually stir the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl into the pumpkin mixture until just incorporated. Spoon a heaping 1/3 cup of the batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar or rolled oats, if desired.
Bake for 22 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cooking time varies quite a bit by the amount of moisture in the ingredients. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out the muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Once cooled, the muffins can be frozen in freezer bags for up to 1 month.)