It is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and this is traditionally a time for gatherings to give thanks and share a feast. However, the act of giving thanks and expressing gratitude around harvest time is nothing new.
It seems that these types of celebrations have been part of most cultures throughout history with talk of harvest festivals in which ancient Romans revered Ceres, the goddess of corn and in ancient Greece, Demeter, the goddess of grain was honoured.
What is the Thanksgiving holiday?
According to some historians, the first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred around 1578 when an explorer, Martin Frobisher, held an event to give thanks for surviving his journey from England and to celebrate his arrival in the New World.
There are a number of other countries that also celebrate Thanksgiving and although the actual dates, culinary offerings, and nature of the celebrations vary from country to country, the purpose of the festivities is to express gratitude, often for the fall harvest, and generally includes a feast to be shared with the community.
Recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
Growing up in England, I donāt recall using pumpkins in cooking and I understand it is only in the last 20 years or so that they have become readily available in the shops there. Since living in North America, I have found that pumpkins are a popular ingredient in many dishes including soups, oatmeal, pies and baked goods.
For a pumpkin dish this year, I decided to made a quick and easy recipe for chocolate pumpkin muffins. The muffins are inspired by Oh She Glows and they are vegan, gluten free and, as the name suggests, can literally be made in one bowl!
Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened pumpkin purƩe
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup (40 g) coconut sugar*
- 1/2 cup (60 mL) pure maple syrup*
- 1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
For the chia egg:
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) ground chia seeds**
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) water
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) gluten-free rolled oats, blended into a fine flour***
- 1/3 cup (40 g) cacao powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2/3 cup (120 g) non-dairy chocolate chips (optional)****
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F (180Ā°C) and line a muffin tin (12).*****
- Add rolled oats to a high-speed blender and blend on high until a fine flour forms. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ground chia seed and water until combined. Set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
- To the same bowl, add the rest of the wet ingredients (pumpkin, oil, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla) and stir until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients (oat flour, cacao powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Whisk until smooth.
- Set aside 1/4 cup (45 g) of chocolate chips (if using) for the topping and stir the remaining chips into the batter.
- Spoon the batter into muffins cups, filling each two-thirds full. Press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove each muffin case and place it directly onto the cooling rack until fully cooled. Leftover muffins can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for several days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Tips:
- *I halved the amount of coconut sugar and maple syrup to 1/4 cup each so, depending on the sweetness level preferred, adjust the amount listed above.
- **You can make a flax egg instead of the chia egg using 1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water.
- ***If you don’t want to grind your own oats, you can use 150 gms of oat flour or use 1 1/2 cups (233 g) whole-grain spelt flour. If using whole-grain spelt flour (not gluten free), you will likely need to bake the muffins for a couple extra minutes.
- ****Instead of chocolate chips, you can use raisins.
- *****This recipe can also be made into a loaf instead by using a 9×5-inch loaf pan and baking for about 45 to 50 minutes at 350Ā°F (180Ā°C) until a toothpick comes out clean.
Closing Thoughts
Thanksgiving is a popular festival and, in commercial terms, tends to mark the start of the Christmas season. Although this holiday did not have the same significance growing up, I do recall the Harvest Festivals in England which were often celebrated in churches and schools and were a time when children would learn about the harvest and farm life.
However, giving thanks and expressing gratitude is an innate part of the human condition. It has found to have health benefits including reducing stress and blood pressure, slowing the aging clock and strengthening a sense of community. With benefits like these, it makes sense to cultivate more gratitude in our lives.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a good reminder to step back and gain a perspective about what we are grateful for. However, it does not need to be limited to once a year. I imagine that even if once a day, we made a practice of noting something that we are grateful for, we would feel a shift. With that in mind, perhaps take a quiet moment and ask yourself, what are you grateful for today?
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Looks super yumm and chocolate dishes are my all time fav š¤©šā¤ļø
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These chocolate pumpkin muffins looks delicious!š
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Interesting combination, I am going to copy and test on my guests. I also like your narrative, especially – gratitude. Thank you.
Joanna
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Thanks and me too, chocolate seems to find its way into a lot of my dishes :)
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Thanks and hope you get to try them :)
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Glad you enjoyed it, Joanna, and I hope your guests enjoy them :)
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These look delicious!
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Yes sure! As I also loved to bake and try combining different ingredients, I think I haven’t done combining pumpkin with chocolate yetš but I already tried chocolate with bananas.
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Love these
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Oh my gosh, those look delicious!!!
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Thanks! I think they probably make good “training” food too :)
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Yes, chocolate and bananas is a great mix. It wasn’t until I had my first pumpkin pie that I would ever of thought of pumpkin for a dessert, let alone mixed with chocolate! However, it seems to work :)
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Thanks, I find it hard to resist anything with chocolate :)
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Thanks! I would never have thought there were so many tasty uses for pumpkin! :)
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I would rather have the pumpkin muffin than the pumpkin latte. I could have pumpkin soup too actually, just not in coffee. :)
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I can totally relate :)
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I enjoy pumpkin soup too – although not so much in coffee either :) It is interesting that pumpkin seems to work just as well in savoury or sweet. Enjoy!
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That’s right.
In my village/tribe; pumpkin is reserved for harder times. It’s always the last of the harvest to be reluctantly eaten.
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That is so interesting. Thanks for sharing :)
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Sure. :)
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I love the idea of one bowl! And these look so chocolatey and moist too, so yummy!
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Thanks and sure does make the process of baking more appealing when it is so easy! Hope you get a chance to try them.
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This looks so tasty
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Thanks and they are so quick and easy to make too :)
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I love quick Recipes
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Me too … and quick and easy clean up :)
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Yesš
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I never would’ve thought of pumpkin & chocolate together, but it looks delicious! :)
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I would not have thought of putting them together either but it does seem to work. Mind you, the older I get, the list of things to pair chocolate with does seem to be growing :)
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Great recipe. I will these for me and pumpkin for my fiance, since he does not like chocolate.
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Thanks, You can always replace the chocolate chips with something like raisins or the muffins would be perfectly good without either – hope you enjoy :)
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Omg! U have no idea how much I love your recipes! I feel bad for not finding it beforeš and plus this recipeš¤¤š¤¤š¤¤š¤¤
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These looks yummy and delicious!
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Thank you so much, I am glad you like them and I really appreciate your kind words :) :)
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Thank you :) … and they are super easy to make which is always a bonus!
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No problem š¤š¤
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Thanks for choosing to follow my blog! I really appreciate your support! Looking forward to reading more of your posts!
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Looks great!
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Thanks, and so easy to make too :)
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Looks soooo chocolaty š
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They are definitely something a chocolate lover will appreciate!
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Yum
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… and so easy to make :)
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