Pumpkin Spice Muffins: grain, gluten, dairy free!

Yes! I have actually managed to do a little more experimenting in my kitchen recently, and successfully created a gluten free, grain free, dairy free muffin which exudes essence of pumpkin and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg....yum!!

Of course, there are many other gluten free recipes for pumpkin muffins, cookies, cakes, and breads out there on the Internet (please see Elana's, Karina's and Erica's latest pumpkin postings...and there are TONS more!), but this may be the only grain-free, dairy-free recipe that uses both coconut and almond flours. I've been using this combination a lot lately because it creates a great texture, retaining the good qualities of both flours without incorporating the negative ones (such as coconut flour's notorious tendency to make baked goods very dry).

These muffins are wonderfully moist and cake-like without being overly dense or oily, and have a nice "spring" to them if pressed lightly on top. I suspect they would be fabulous with additions such as pecans, chopped cranberries, or even chocolate chips....and I may be able to make iced pumpkin quick bread or pumpkin coffee cake without having to alter the recipe too much! More on that topic soon, I hope...


In any case, here is the recipe (makes approximately 21 muffins):

Ingredients:

1/4 C melted coconut oil or grapeseed oil
1 C agave nectar
1 15-oz can pumpkin (100% pure pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie mix)
6 eggs
3/4 C coconut flour
1 C plus 3 T almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp (rounded) ginger
1/8 tsp cloves

NOTE: 1 15-oz can of pumpkin is approximately 1 3/4 C of pumpkin puree, at least for Libby's pumpkin!

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin pans generously with shortening (I've used both Crisco and Spectrum).

In a large bowl combine the eggs, agave, oil, and canned pumpkin with a hand-held mixer until smooth and "emulsified" (meaning there should not be a skim of oil on top, but the oil should be completely incorporated). In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and all the spices. Dump the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture; mix together thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently.

Spoon muffin batter into greased muffin pans. Bake at 350 for approximately 21 - 23 minutes, depending on your oven. Allow the muffins to cool in the pans for 10 - 15 minutes, then remove them to wire racks to finish cooling.

Addendum 11/19/09:
NOTE: the muffins will be very fragile just out of the oven, and will feel overly moist, even oily on the bottoms. But as they cool, they firm up and absorb the excess moisture and oil. This is likely due to the absorbent properties of the coconut flour; it allows the muffins to stay moist and delicious for days.

As I mentioned before, I made 21 muffins by filling the muffin cups about 2/3 full. If you fill yours with more batter, you will have larger (fewer) muffins and may have to bake them a bit longer.