Healthy Comfort Foods: Pumpkin Spice Muffins (GF/DF)

When the leaves start to turn red and the cozy sweaters come out, it's time for all things pumpkin. Pumpkin spice lattes. Pumpkin spice ice cream. Even pumpkin spice cheerios!

Unfortunately, most pumpkin spice treats are laden with processed sugars and artificial ingredients. If you are also avoiding gluten and dairy like me, there aren't many pumpkin spice goodies out there that I can eat without feeling a bit yuck afterwards.

But, the thing is, I love pumpkin spice.

To me it's like a cozy fireplace and falling leaves and warm blankets, manifested in food form. So I scoured the internet to find pumpkin spice ANYTHING that would taste good but also be good for my body. I found a muffin recipe that was almost exactly what I was looking for:

Delicious pumpkin spice flavor. Check.

Gluten free. Check.

Dairy free. Check.

Whole food ingredients. Check.

Healthy proteins and fats. Check.

Low sugar. Hmmm... Not quite.

A few tweaks to the sweetness levels and I gave it a try. Perfection!

---

Healthy Pumpkin and Spice Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

Ingredients

1 can pumpkin puree

1 cup nut butter

4 eggs

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two muffin tins with coconut oil.

2. Mix pumpkin puree, nut butter, eggs, honey, coconut oil and vanilla in a large bowl. (If your coconut oil is still warm from melting, be sure to add the pumpkin before the eggs, or the warmth of the oil may cause the eggs to cook slightly.)

3. Mix the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a small bowl, then stir it into your batter.

4. Fill your muffin tins, splitting the batter evenly among 24 muffins.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until muffins are firm and a toothpick comes out clean.

   
   

Notes:

• Nut butters. I have personally used both peanut butter and almond butter in the muffins, and didn't find the flavor to change significantly. If you're ambitious, you could try making your own pecan or walnut butter to use...the perfect combo with pumpkin!

• How to adjust sweetness level. The amount of honey in this recipe is what I considered the "sweet spot" between having plenty of flavor, but not being overly sweet. If you find the muffins too sweet, or not sweet enough, it's easy to adjust to your taste. Simply adjust the amount of honey and coconut oil, keeping the total amount of honey + coconut oil to 2/3 cup. (So if you want the muffins less sweet, increase the amount of coconut oil and use less honey, and vice versa.)

• Alternate baking methods. If you don't have enough muffin tins, you can use small ramekins, a small cast iron or even a small loaf pan. Just adjust bake time accordingly, and be careful not to overfill with batter, so that the center will still bake properly.

---

Now that you have your muffins made, sit by a window (crack it for some healthy sunlight!), enjoy the fall colors, and indulge in a healthy pumpkin spice treat.

I love to pair it with a glass of warm goat milk, or eggs for breakfast. If you want to go a bit more decadent, try topping them with dairy-free whipped cream and cinnamon, or enjoy with a glass of homemade eggnog. Theses muffins also keep well in the freezer for a quick, guilt-free snack.

Happy Fall!

~ Sarah