Om nom nom.

(Ahem.....clearly this whole not-procrastinating thing is going splendidly. Aaaaanyways...)

Have I mentioned how much I love to cook? Well, I do.  I feel so blessed to have my apartment with Courtney, and I must say that other than having my own room and a hot tub within twenty feet of my front porch, my absolute most favoritest part is having a kitchen :)

Most recently, I've been obsessed with baking.  Much to the delight of my roommate, le boyfriend, and various friendly klingons that frequent our place, I've been testing my skills. Our the counters are endlessly filled with batch after batch of cookies, cupcakes, and my particularly excellent pumpkin muffins. Healthy, pumpkiny goodness certainly should not be kept a secret. So go forth, bake, surprise yourself, and astound your family and friends!

 MissTurnips's Dericious Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup Fiber One Original bran cereal
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
1 cup club soda
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/4 cup sugar-free pancake syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Step 1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside.

Step 2)  Use a food processor, blender, or any creative method of your choice to crush the Fiber One into a breadcrumb-like consistency. Transfer into a large mixing bowl, and combine with the rest of the dry ingredients. The first eight ingredients should now be in the bowl. Mix to combine.

Step 3) In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the last five wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly, then add to the contents of the larger bowl. Stir until well blended, being sure to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl. That flour sure does like to hide down there!

Step 4) Pour batter into your pre-greased muffin pan, filling the cups nearly to the top. Bake for 35 minutes with regular muffin cups, 60 minutes for mammoth muffins.

Step 5) Remove muffins from the oven and ALLOW THEM TO COOL. Pumpkin is a finicky substance. I promise they're done, but you have to give them time to set. Then sprinkle with the topping of your choice. The roommate and boyfriend like powdered sugar, while I prefer Cool Whip.

Step 6) NOM.

I hope you have a wonderful Monday, my lovelies!