Pumpkin Muffins and Puzzlers

Welcome to the world of Jacquidon and Chantal Carroll, the Snoop Sisters, as they sleuth their way through life in the new Jacquidon Carroll mystery series by Denise Weeks. Here, we'll take a peek into the lives of the sisters and get excerpts from the upcoming books in the series. Occasionally we'll explore some of the puzzles that Jacquidon encounters as she bumbles along and some of the brain-teasers that come up. Expect some fun blog contests, coming up soon!

Today's offering is a diabetes-friendly recipe from Jacquidon's kitchen. Since she was diagnosed with diabetes right before being laid off from her job as an administrative assistant, she has been trying to make peace with her blood sugar. But that doesn't mean never eating another carbohydrate or shunning all baked goods!

JACQUIDON'S PUMPKIN MUFFINS
makes 1 dozen
serving size: 1
prep time: 25 minutes/cooking time: 30 minutes
exchanges: 1 starch
calories: 86
carbohydrate: 15 g

1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tsp. baking powder
2 Tsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
1/2 Tsp. almond extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan or mold with cooking spray or line the cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Combine the remaining ingredients in another bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the pumpkin mixture. Mix well but do not over-beat or muffins will be tough. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for about 30 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely.

Other pertinent stats:
calories from fat: 22
total fat: 2 g
saturated fat: 0 g
cholesterol: 24 mg
sodium: 119 mg
dietary fiber: 2 g
sugars: 4 g
protein: 3 g

Hope you enjoy, if you try them! More recipes to come.