Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Love, love, love these little muffins. Delicately sweet, I make them as soon as the first crisp days of fall hit so I can get into the spirit of the season as soon as squash hits the farm stands.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon AZ Chia seeds
soaked in 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk for 15 minutes
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup semolina flour
Sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Generous pinch cinnamon
1/2 cup Suzanne's Specialties Maple Rice Nectar (brown rice syrup)
1/4 cup Olivado avocado oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned, pureed pumpkin
Unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup finely minced walnuts
1/4 cup currants

Directions 
Whisk together dry ingredients. Set aside. Place rice syrup, oil, vanilla and pumpkin in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes. 

Stir wet ingredients and soaked chia seeds into dry and mix well. Slowly add almond milk to create a smooth, spoonable batter. Fold in walnuts and currants. Spoon into muffin tin, filling cups about three-quarters full. 

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back to the touch. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before releasing muffins from tin.

Makes 24 mini-muffins or 12 standard muffins.