Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffin Recipe

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This whole wheat pumpkin spice latte muffin recipe is reminiscent of your favorite fall drink. Great for an on-the-go breakfast or enjoy it as an afternoon snack.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffin Recipe

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffin Recipe

Inspiration can come in the strangest places. Such as the drive-thru line at Starbucks. Okay, that’s not quite as romantic or whimsical as a wildflower-strewn meadow or the foot of the Eiffel Tower. But hey, this is real life. So, when I’m rushing between work and the kids’ school, stopping en route for a quick afternoon pick-me-up, the Starbucks menu is all I’ve got.

It’s hard to ignore a 3-foot tall picture of a steaming pumpkin spice latte, so I did what any logical person would do (ahem). I stole those flavors and turned them into a muffin recipe.

Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and, of course, pumpkin and espresso. That’s a lot to stuff into one little pumpkin spice latte muffin. The spices were easy enough and, for once, I was thankful for the multitude of spice bottles, lying askew in my pantry. The pumpkin? Well, I cheated and used the canned version. Just plain pumpkin, please – not pumpkin pie mix.

As for the espresso…well, I could easily have asked for an extra shot at Starbucks, but decided to save my wallet $2.05 by using some of the instant espresso powder in my stash of baking supplies. It’s also fantastic for chocolate cakes, adding a depth of flavor with just a couple of teaspoons, without turning it into a mocha cake.

In keeping with all-things-healthy-and-light (you remember the blasphemy I wreaked on the Light(er) No-Bake Cookies with Dulce de Leche & Sea Salt, right? Hey, those were darn good.), I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose flour.

Autumn Family HikeGratuitous fall photo. I just can’t resist those leaves.

Instead of the large glugs of oil typically found in muffins (cakes masquerading as breakfast fare), I used just 2 tablespoons of hearty-healthy canola oil, along with some fat-free plain Greek yogurt for moisture.

My kids adored this pumpkin spice latte muffin recipe. If you want to make them even more enticing to the younger crew, add some dark chocolate chips as a treat.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffin:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place 12 liners in a muffin tin and spray the liners with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Whole wheat pastry flour produces a much lighter muffin than one made with regular whole wheat flour. (Um, nope – this is not an ad for the product in the picture…just an example of a pastry flour you can use.)

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffin Recipe

In a small bowl, stir together espresso powder and hot water until espresso powder dissolves. Let it cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine pumpkin, yogurt, brown sugar, canola oil, egg and espresso powder mixture. Mix on medium speed until well combined.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffin Recipe

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Remove muffins from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffins Recipe

Other whole wheat muffins:

Whole Wheat Apple Spice Muffins
Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins
Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

Instagram-button If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I’ll be sure to find it.

5.0 rating
2 reviews

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffins

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From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com

Serves 12 muffins

Ingredients

    The muffins

    • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
    • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 3 tbsp espresso powder
    • 2 tbsp hot water
    • 1 cup canned pumpkin
    • 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
    • 3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp canola oil
    • 1 large egg

    The topping

    • 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
    • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

    Directions

      The muffins:

      1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place 12 liners in a muffin tin and spray the liners with cooking spray.
      2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
      3. In a small bowl, stir together espresso powder and hot water until espresso powder dissolves. Let it cool to room temperature.
      4. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine pumpkin, yogurt, brown sugar, canola oil, egg and espresso powder mixture. Mix on medium speed until well combined.
      5. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
      6. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the batter.
      7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
      8. Remove muffins from the pan and allow to cool. Serve.

      by

      Recipe Notes

      Calories 145.2 / Total Fat 3.2g / Saturated Fat 0.4g / Cholesterol 15.4mg / Sodium 171mg / Total Carbohydrates 32.1g / Fiber 2.6g / Sugars 20g / Protein 3.8g / WW (Old Points) 3 / WW (Points+) 4

      Disclosure: This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!

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      Comments

        • LOL. Thanks, Marla. You’ll just need to come for a visit to get that true fall feeling.

          Reply

      3. I am definitely making these! I can’t resist a good pumpkin spice latte… Question– if I don’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand and will use regular whole wheat flour, do the measurements change?

        Reply

        • Hi Lina, you could use regular whole wheat flour. However, the texture of the muffins will be MUCH denser than if you used the ww pastry flour. An alternative would be replacing about half of the ww flour with all-purpose flour. I hope you enjoy them!

          Reply

      4. I’m making these, too. They look and sound so good. Even better is that I have all the ingredients in my kitchen already. Isn’t espresso powder great? I wholeheartedly agree about adding it in chocolate cakes. And, yes, canned pumpkin, too. Nothing wrong with it at all. 🙂

        Reply

        • Thanks, Jean! Oh yes, that espresso powder has come in handy on many occasions. I hope you enjoy the muffins as much as we did.

          Reply

      6. So happy it’s finally pumpkin season! I’m totally getting obsessed. I went through three pumpkins this weekend and have jars upon jars in my fridge. Might just have to make some muffins when I get home 🙂

        Reply

        • Thanks, Stacey! I was happy to be able to incorporate all of the flavors into one muffin.

          Reply

      10. These look great! Where can I find espresso powder? I am in the US. Is it the same thing as instant espresso?

        Reply

        • Hi Jen. Yes, it’s the same as instant espresso. I’m in the U.S. as well and typically buy the Medaglia D’Oro brand at a specialty store near my home.

          Reply

      13. I can only guess how much I’d love these muffins. A whole lot!! It’s like a taste of fall wrapped in a muffin tin. And the espresso powder is right up my alley. Yay.

        Reply

      16. These look great Dara; I will be making these this weekend! Thank you for lowering the oil and using whole grain; you’ve done the science for me and I thank you.

        Reply

      25. Super pumped to make these when the sweet pumpkins are ready in the garden. Just wondering, has anyone passed this on to wheat-free eaters to get their thoughts on suitable flour replacement? I could experiment myself, but better not recreate the wheel.

        Reply

      26. Wow, these sound (and look) SO enticing. I don’t love pumpkin but I love the idea of a pumpkin latte and even more so, a pumpkin latte muffin! Nicely done on the recipe makeover- light and healthy and no one even knows!!

        Reply

      28. Hey! These sound fantastic!! For us folk that are allergic to dairy…what would you substitute the yogurt for??

        Thanks!

        Reply

      30. I tried making these with 1/2 WW flour and 1/2 regular. They stuck to the paper muffin cup and weren’t done in the middle! My baking skills are not up to par but what went wrong, I followed the directions otherwise? Maybe try spraying the muffin tin? This has happened to me before! I like the flavor?

        Reply

        • Amy, did you spray the muffin cups? I believe that is stated in the steps – I’ve had the same sticking problem in the past and find that spraying the paper cups really helps.

          Reply

      31. I made these today and they’re fantastic! The kitchen smells wonderful now too. Just a note – mine took a little less than 25 minutes and you left out the step of adding the topping.

        Thank you so much! Found this via pinterest.

        Reply

        • I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the heads-up about the missed step…it’s fixed now.

          Reply

      32. I don’t know how I missed these. They sound and look amazing! I love the ingredients and that there isn’t too much fat in them, although I don’t mind healthy fat too much. I tried the pumpkin espresso combo for the first time yesterday and it was heavenly. Can’t wait to try these!

        Reply

      35. So good! Pumpkin, spices, espresso… you can’t go wrong. I made these awhile ago, but I remember they were super delicious. Love your blog!

        5.0 rating

        Reply

      36. Hi Dara! I loved these muffins and I’d love to feature them in a Favorite Recipe Roundup I’m doing for my blog, Bakes and Blunders (www.bakesandblunders.com). I sent you an email about it last week and I’m just following up on it. Please let me know by Mon Jan 21 so that I have enough time to finish the post. Thanks and keep up the great baking!

        5.0 rating

        Reply

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