Pumpkin Spice Streusel Muffins (Vegan)

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water)

• 4 tbsp melted vegan butter (I used earth balance)

• 1/4 cup oat milk or other plant based milk

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (these muffins are not very sweet, so feel free to add another 1/4 cup of brown sugar if you prefer them sweeter)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 2 cups all purpose flour (can sub some for white whole wheat if you want)

For the Streusel Topping:

• 2 tbsp softened vegan butter

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup rolled oats

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

For the Maple Glaze:

• powdered sugar

• maple syrup

• oat milk

Method:

1. Make your flax egg and set aside (you may need to mix every few minutes to ensure the flax doesn't sink to the bottom)

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Prepare the streusel topping in a small bowl. Mix together softened butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon until fluffy. Add in oats and flour and mix until everything is well combined and there are no dry flour bits left. Set aside and begin making muffin batter.

4. Grease a muffin tin (I used a tin that made 6 large muffins, but you are welcome to use a normal tin that makes 12 muffins - just be cautious with bake time because those will bake much quicker).

5. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together all of the wet ingredients including your brown sugar.

6. In a separate bowl whisk together dry ingredients. Pour half of the dry ingredients into the wet and begin mixing/folding in with a spatula. Add in the rest of the dry ingredients and continue to mix with spatula until everything is well incorporated.

7. Scoop batter into muffin tins and sprinkle each muffin with streusel topping.

8. Bake for 30-35 minutes if you made large muffins. If you made smaller ones, begin checking at 15-20 minutes. A neat trick I learned is to use a pairing knife to check doneness because a toothpick can't always pick up uncooked batter. When your knife comes out clean remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 min before removing from tins and placing on a cooling rack.

9. While you wait for the muffins to cool, you can make the maple icing. Just combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, and a splash of oat milk. I didn't measure any of this, just went by feel but I would guess 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar, 1-2 tsp maple syrup, and just enough oat milk to get to desired consistency. Whisk together until well combined, add more powdered sugar if too liquid or more milk if too thick. Drizzle on to your muffins while they finish cooling.

10. Store in a container at room temp, or freeze for later. Enjoy :)