Sweet Potato Cranberry (Pear) Whole Wheat Muffins--SO GOOD!

If Autumn could have a flavor-this would be it-cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves....if you don't care for any of these (or would prefer a ginger flavor), you can subtract a spice or two. Tailor these muffins to your liking.When you have sweet potatoes that are going bad, you can peel them and cut off the soft spots. Then, you can boil them and puree for uses in baked goods--like muffins. I will post on a vegan sweet potato roll later next month using this type of puree.

The streusel topping really makes these muffins--in fact, I doubled the streusel topping ingredients (below is singular)--it didn't seem to be sufficient for all the muffins and I'm glad I did. But, by doing so, I think I may ALSO skip the honey and the sugar from the muffin ingredients the next time I make them. The cranberries and the raw sugar in the topping provide plenty of sweetness. Recipe courtesy of ungourmet.com via Taste of Home.

SWEET POTATO CRANBERRY PEAR WHOLE WHEAT MUFFINS

1 ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar (I’m skipping this next time)
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ cup dried cranberries
2 eggs
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
¼ cup chunky pear sauce (if you click on it, there's a link on how to make it, but I’m sure applesauce will do)
½ cup skim milk
½ cup honey
¼ cup canola oil

Streusel Topping:
2 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tbsp. oats
1 Tbsp. raw sugar (like Turbinado)
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cold butter (I used Brummel and Brown spread with yogurt)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Lightly spray the paper liners with a Pam-type spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar (if using), baking powder & soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cranberries.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sweet potatoes, pear sauce (or applesauce), milk, honey, and oil. Stir the liquid/egg mixture into the flour mixture JUST until moistened. Try not to overmix.

Fill baking cups 2/3 full. (I just fill all the 12 muffin cups until all of the mix is used) Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

HAVE AN AWESOME FALL!!!!