Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins

Muffins to make the (rainy, Fall) morning bright.

Last weekend I bought 5 sweet potatoes. I bought them with every intention of serving them as oven fries when I made pulled pork in my slow cooker for a group of friends that came over to visit. Since we ended up eating the sandwiches while we played cards, I never got the chance to make the fries. and so I am left in a sweet potato debacle. What do 2 people do with almost a half dozen sweet potatoes??

Well before I went out to visit a friend for a couple of hours on Sunday, I wrapped three in little foil jackets and popped them in the oven. The man turned off the oven when the timer dinged, and when I got home I had 2 cups worth of soft roasted sweet potato to work with. If we are home over the weekend, (an increasingly rare occurrence lately) I love to take the time to bake something that we can eat for breakfast through the week. It guarantees I will eat breakfast, and helps me turn a deaf ear to the siren song that is the coffee shop (and their gingerbread donuts) two doors down from my office. and so sweet potato muffins were born.

These muffins are great for Sunday baking and then munching all week long. While not a close cousin to the gingerbread donuts, they do pack a lovely amount of -natural- sweetness and spice. They are made hearty with oats and whole wheat flour while pecans give some nice crunch. The sweet potato puree helps to keep them moist through the week...I daresay that they would keep well longer, but I wouldn't be able to tell you. They don't last that long in my house.

Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins
 Adapted from The Louisiana Sweet Potato Comission
1 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 c. roasted and mashed sweet potato
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. canola oil
1/4 c. skim milk (I used soy milk)
1 large egg
1 t. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk oatmeal, flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another small bowl, combine the sweet potato, brown sugar, oil, egg, milk and vanilla, whisking to blend well. Pour over dry ingredients and stir to combine. Mix until just moistened. Scoop into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check at the 15 minute mark- the batter is fairly dense and will bake quickly.