Pumpkins Are Here! Making Pumpkin Muffins — Gluten Free and Vegan

Pumpkins are one of my most favorite things to bake with in the Fall. I use them in muffins, pancakes, cookies, pies, and even smoothies.

Pumpkin puree makes a great substitution for eggs. You can use 3 tbsp puree plus 1 tsp baking powder per egg you are leaving out of a recipe. I'm sure you've heard of people using applesauce to replace oil in a recipe. This is a similar idea. Applesauce is also a great egg replacer in this same way. You can actually save calories and increase nutritional value and use less oil in a pumpkin, zucchini, or banana bread and more veggie puree.

This past week, the kids were asking for pumpkin muffins, so we walked on over to and I had them pick out two small "sugar" or "pie" pumpkins on sale to bake and puree for our muffins and for some pumpkin pancakes. Drama ensued when my six-year-old son thought a tiny pumpkin was the cutest thing he had ever seen. I thought I'd better buy a backup can of pumpkin puree, just in case. It was a good thing I did, because by the time we got home from the store my son had decided to name the smallest pumpkin Spooky — and gave it a face. He told me that I am to never, ever, cook Spooky. So I just went ahead and used the can, for now. 

Pumpkin Muffins: gluten free and vegan
Courtesy of Kendra Hubbell bfffoodproject.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup canola oil (or other favorite oil. Coconut is great!)
• 4 tbsp flax meal mixed with 6 tbsp warm-hot water
• 15 oz pureed pumpkin
• 1 ¼ cup organic sugar
• 2/3 cup coconut milk or apple juice
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp ginger
• 2 ½ Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

Directions:

Add wet ingredients in Vitamix, (or blender, mixer, or bowl of your choice) followed by the dry ingredients and mix well.

If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix the wet ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Add all dry ingredients in another bowl and stir to combine. Then combine the wet with the dry and mix well.

Put ¼ cup of the batter into muffin tins that have been sprayed with your favorite cooking spray or muffin or cupcake papers.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Eat immediately, or once they've cooled. You can store leftovers in a container on the counter or in the fridge or even freeze them. I pack these as my kid's snack for school.

Enjoy!

Find more, including a printable version of this recipe at http://bfffoodproject.blogspot.com/