Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I am always searching for great gluten-free recipes and trying out my own creations too.  Granted, several are dismal failures and many gluten-free bakers will relate to this - those muffins that didn't rise, the hockey puck cookies, the sticky and gooey cakes.

The fact is that when you start messing around with xanthan or guar gum you will most likely run into issues. Some baked goods will be too pasty or too heavy.
It is truly trial and error.

I am happy to say that this recipe only took one attempt and I had SUCCESS!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Autumn cannot officially arrive soon enough.
I love fall. Without question, my favorite season of all. The crisp, cool, air, the warm sweaters, the fallen leaves, gorgeous orange pumpkins and warm, steamy cups of lattes and hot chocolates. What isn't to love?

One of my most adored fall treats is Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. It is liquid dessert ! My least favorite feature of the drink? The price. So why not make it at home? I did some searching and found a few copycat recipes but this one on the family kitchen beats them all. Rich, creamy, and perfectly spiced with pumpkin and vanilla. I didn't bother topping mine with whipped cream as this was rich enough for me but a dollop of whipped cream definitely wouldn't hurt either!

You will need to have some pure canned pumpkin handy - not pumpkin pie filling - and some pumpkin pie spice too. The rest of the ingredients you probably have already. I used my Keurig to brew up 1/2 a cup of espresso coffee (a Timothy's K-Cup) but feel free to brew up your espresso any way you prefer. You can add up to 4 shots if you like a stronger coffee taste or just one for a hint of that nutty flavor.

To get it all nice and foamy, I used my immersion blender but if you have a small milk frother then definitely go with that option.

Give this a try and please let me know what you think! I loved it and can see myself making many more as the season progresses.

Let's get percolating !

RECIPE:
*source recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte, the family kitchen

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups half and half, whole milk reduced fat or skim milk (I prefer the cream option!)
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 – 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-4 shots espresso or very strong coffee (I double the amount of grounds I use per cup to get my strong coffee)

MAKE IT

BREW your espresso or strong coffee. If brewing strong coffee, use double the amount of grounds you would in your regular coffee.
COMBINE half and half or milk, pumpkin, sugar, and pumpkin pie spices in a small saucepan. Heat until very hot, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a blender or a milk frother and blend until frothy.
POUR 1 cup warm pumpkin milk mixture into coffee mug and add 1-4 coffee shots. Dust with more pumpkin pie spice if desired.

Makes about 2 servings. Simply cut the ingredients in half for a single serving but taste as you go along to find the blend that works for you

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Also seen here:

Pumpkin Muffins with Pecans

I have had a craving for pumpkin for days now so I decided to give in to it. I had a can of pure pumpkin in the cupboard and all the extra ingredients handy to whip up a dozen glorious little pumpkin muffins. These are topped with pecans and turbinado sugar for crunch but be forewarned, the pecans will weigh down the very light batter so they will not rise as much as you would expect. If you want a rounder top, just leave them plain before baking.

I found this source recipe on Healthy Food For Living and adjusted it slightly. I decided to leave out the cream cheese filling and just go with a straight-forward fluffy muffin. They are not too sweet and have so much depth of flavor given the cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg added to the batter. Superb with a cup of tea.

LET'S BEGIN

First off, have that key ingredient handy: Pumpkin - pure pumpkin, NOT pie filling

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup Sucanat or packed dark brown sugar (I split the difference and used 1/4 cup of each)
2 Tbsp unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
turbinado or demerara sugar

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper cups.
IN A MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg).
IN A LARGE BOWL, whisk together the sugar, molasses, oil, and eggs until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, vanilla, and buttermilk.
ADD dry ingredients into wet and stir just until fully moistened.
SPOON batter into prepared muffin tin, filling to the top of the liner
SPRINKLE each filled muffin cup with a few pecans and sugar
BAKE muffins for 23-26 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean
LET MUFFINS COOL in the muffin tin for 5 minutes.
TRANSFER muffins to a wire rack and let cool completely.

This recipe also seen here: