My two favorite things about Fall are crunching the leaves beneath my feet (which makes me feel like I’m a kid again!) and baking all sorts of Fall-flavored goodies.
When I was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity, I began playing around with my favorite recipes. I didn’t want to feel like I was missing out on some of my favorite traditions, like pumpkin spice muffins. To me, these muffins are so comforting, so heartwarming… so Fall. Happy baking!
DETAILS
Gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free option (see Notes below recipe), nut-free option (see Notes below recipe), vegan option (see Notes below recipe)
Makes: 30ish mini muffins (or about a dozen regular-sized muffins)
Level of difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 10 mins
Bake time: 14-17 mins for mini muffins (see Step 9 for regular muffins)
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Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1 cup cassava flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Make sure all ingredients are room temperature.
- Combine all wet ingredients (except butter/ coconut oil) in a medium mixing bowl.
- Sift all dry ingredients (except nuts and raisins) into a separate small mixing bowl. Sifting helps eliminate clumps and adds a little air to help make the muffins fluffier. Mix well.
- Slowly stir the melted butter/ coconut oil into the wet ingredients.
- Fold 1/3 of the dry mixture into the wet mixture until just mixed. Fold in the next 1/3 until just mixed. Then the last 1/3 until just mixed. Try not to overmix, or else they could become tough and dense.
- Fold in the nuts and raisins (if using) until just mixed.
- Spoon enough mixture into each muffin cup to where it’s almost full, but not quite. They will rise in the oven.
- Dust the tops of the muffins with a little extra cinnamon or nuts, if desired.
- Bake mini muffins for 14-17 minutes. In my oven, they take 16 minutes. If you’d like to use this recipe for regular sized muffins, be aware that cooking times will vary. My advice is to bake for 23-28 minutes, and check them regularly. The muffins are done when the tops have dried out and lightened a bit, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
NOTES
- To make dairy-free: Sub your favorite dairy milk alternative. I personally love using full-fat canned coconut milk, but any milk will do. Also, use coconut oil instead of butter.
- To make vegan: Follow the notes above for dairy-free, and also use your favorite egg substitute. I personally like to use “flax eggs” if I’m trying to omit eggs from a baking recipe. For this recipe, mix 2 tablespoons of ground flax with 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl, and let it sit for 5 minutes before you use it. Lastly, use maple syrup instead of honey.
- To make nut-free: Omit the walnuts or pecans.
- To store: Store in an airtight glass container on the counter for no more than 3 days. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- When they’re fresh out of the oven, they may be slightly gummy and may not seem done. But when you let them cool for about an hour or two, they become the texture of fluffy muffins that we all love.
- Your little ones may not be too keen on the spices, so feel free to reduce the spice amounts for kiddos: 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground cloves.
- If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, lemon juice should work fine. It’s there to help activate the baking soda and cream of tartar in order to make the muffins rise, so it’s important!
- Keep in mind that if you add raisins, the muffins will be sweeter, so you may want to consider adding less maple syrup/ honey.