Healthy Whole Wheat Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

2. Place dried cranberries in a bowl with hot water to cover. Let stand to rehydrate, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves together in a large bowl.

4. Whisk egg whites together in a separate bowl. Gently fold in pumpkin puree, applesauce, honey, molasses, and vanilla extract.

5. Create a well in the flour mixture and fold in pumpkin mixture. Mix until just combined. Drain water from cranberries and fold into the batter.

6. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each almost full. Top each muffin with additional cranberries, a sprinkle of sugar, and a dash of pumpkin spice.

7. Bake muffins in the preheated oven until tops are no longer sticky and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out mostly clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cook's Note:

When testing doneness with a toothpick, muffins are to be moist, so they should not be completely dry inside.