Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Applesauce Muffins

We made these at our house the other day. They were a last-ditch effort to rid my toddler of the late-afternoon blues. I needed something relatively healthy so and these are what I found. Now, I don't think they're the most delicious muffins. They don't taste like those muffins everyone makes where you mix a can of pumpkin with a cake mix. But I didn't want them to. I wanted something with whole wheat, something sweetened with spices and applesauce...something I wasn't going to feel guilty about handing to my kids throughout the day. So, with that as the criteria, I'll say these little muffins were great! Moist, yummy, healthy, and really quite guilt-free!
I'm giving them 3 stars because I still think there's something better out there. Although the fact that I finally got to get rid of that random odd-numbered can of pumpkin left over from Thanksgiving almost made me bump it up to a 4! =) In either case, these were worth a post and a try.

Oh, and I didn't have pumpkin pie spice, so I just threw in dashes of Mace, Allspice, Nutmeg, and cinnamon until I thought it was right.
I also didn't have buttermilk and was too tired to make it, so I just used regular milk. Not a problem.
Lastly, I threw out the oil. Just didn't use it. I added an extra tablespoon of applesauce, but other than that, I really didn't think they really needed it. They were moist and delicious anyway!

Recipe here and below.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Applesauce Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)