Paleo Pumpkin Muffins (Grain and Dairy Free)

I'm excited to say that I finally perfected my pumpkin muffin recipe!

My family and I are fans of all things pumpkin, so finding lots of paleo pumpkin recipes became a priority when we embarked on this new adventure. I found this recipe from The Gluten-free Homemaker, which was the closest to a traditional muffin that I had found among all of the paleo bloggers. I am grateful to Linda for posting this recipe! However, it wasn't as sweet or pumpkin-spicy as I like. The almond flour that I used was Bob's Red Mill, which isn't the finest almond flour on the market (I hear that Honeyville is better), so the texture of the muffin wasn't as smooth as I would like. I decided to eliminate the almond flour and use coconut and tapioca flours. I also added some coconut sugar and more pumpkin pie spice to make a sweeter, spicier muffin. 

I mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. I found that I had to premix the coconut oil with the almond butter to prevent the coconut oil from solidifying once it comes in contact with the cold eggs.

After combining the wet and dry ingredients, the batter will look like a traditional pumpkin muffin batter. In retrospect, I wish I had broken up the coconut flour clumps beforehand. I had to chase a few of them around the bowl to incorporate them completely.

Fill the muffin tins up. There is a lot of batter, so these will be nice, big muffins. 

With my dark nonstick pan, my muffins were ready in 25 minutes at 325 degrees. One muffin usually fills me up, especially because the coconut flour makes them so fiber rich.

It's hard to believe these are grain and dairy free! I love the texture and taste!

Printable Recipe


Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Yields 1 dozen

Ingredients

• ½ cup tapioca flour 
• ½ cup coconut flour 
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda 
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• ½ cup coconut sugar 
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
• 3/4 cup almond butter (optional)
• ¼ cup melted extra virgin organic coconut oil 
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree 
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract 
• ½ cup honey (or maple syrup)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F, and grease a standard sized muffin tin. (Reduce temperature to 325° F for dark or nonstick pans.)
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, coconut sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In a separate bowl, mix almond butter and coconut oil until thoroughly combined.
4. To the butter and oil mix, add eggs, pumpkin,vanilla, and honey. Mix until combined. 
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
6. Spoon batter into muffin tin.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Feel free to tweak the sweeteners to your liking; not everyone has my insatiable sweet tooth!

I buy my paleo ingredients from several places, including Sam's Club (they carry coconut flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and almond butter), WinCo (you can make your own almond butter and buy the honey, spices, and flours in bulk), Trader Joe's, and Sprouts.