I am absolutely obsessed with pumpkin and I get so excited when fall rolls around and I have an excuse to infuse pumpkin flavors into all of my favorite things. I’ve already posted my recipe for Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, last weekend we had Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast, I made homemade Pumpkin ‘Ice Cream’ the other night (recipe to come!), and now these delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Obviously I have jumped on the pumpkin-in-everything bandwagon, and I love it. A bonus to having all this pumpkin around the house is that it is great for dogs; Molly just loves it and she gets a few tablespoons a day to keep her healthy and happy!
There are so many options when it comes to gluten free baking these days. I have tried numerous different flours and blends for all my baking needs and found that my favorite thing to use when making muffins and breads is almond flour. I just love the taste and texture you get when using it. However, if you’re not a fan of (or allergic to) almond flour, I have included modifications to make this recipe using regular flour as well. I try to keep as many processed ingredients out of my recipes as possible, so in this recipe I use honey and coconut oil, rather than sugars and other oils. The flavor profile is complete with the warm spices and pumpkin puree. I like to make healthy adjustments to my baking, but these muffins are still meant to be a treat, so I made them a little more indulgent by adding some dark chocolate chips.
These muffins can be eaten just about any time of the day; for breakfast (heated up with some cream cheese), as a snack anytime (warm or cold), or as a dessert (crumbled on top of some vanilla gelato is my favorite). No matter how or when you choose to enjoy them, they will satisfy both your sweet tooth and your pumpkin cravings. Happy baking!
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 1/3 cup honey (or agave)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (plus some for greasing the muffin tins)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease 12 muffin tins (I prefer to use coconut oil to grease them, but cooking spray is fine too).
- In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, pumpkin, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla and beat with a hand mixer on medium until smooth.
- In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix by hand.
- Scoop batter into muffin tins using an ice cream scoop and fill each one about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- *If you want to use regular flour instead of almond flour, make the following substitutions: 1 1/2 cups regular flour instead of the almond flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda instead of 1/2 teaspoon, and add 1 teaspoon baking powder.
