FOUR VARIATIONS OF PUMPKIN MUFFINS

FOUR VARIATIONS OF PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Technically, it is still Fall in the United States until the 22nd of December, so I am squeaking in with these muffins. Although I can't see anyone turning down pumpkin muffins this time of year. This simple pumpkin recipe is a very adaptable recipe, as you can see there are 4 variations to choose from; chocolate chips, cranberries, raisins and nuts or apple. A couple of the options are more for maintenance levels of low-carbing. Since we are moderate low-carbers in our house after so many years of low-carbing, we like to indulge sometimes. To be honest, I made these muffins and froze them for another day, after we had enjoyed some of them.

The olive oil keeps these muffins moist and soft. You could replace some of the oil with 2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut oil. I absolutely love what coconut oil does for muffins - they have such a soft consistency. Remember to grease the muffin tin real well.

The batter will be quite thick, so do not be surprised by that. Fill the muffin cups almost full. I like to grease them with melted butter. You will have extra left over to make 14 muffins in total, so two muffin pans are required, or you could just wait for the first batch of muffins to finish baking. Typically, let the muffins cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to further cool down. I run a dinner knife around the circumference of the muffins to loosen them. It is a good idea to grease the muffin cups real well to help with the removal of the muffins. The other alternative is to use cupcake pan liners.

Although I keep these in the fridge after the first day, I like to bring them to room temperature to enjoy them. They freeze well and if you are in a hurry, you can nuke them briefly and enjoy right away.

The spices are warm, fall spices that go so well with pumpkin muffin recipes. I have pumpkin cake recipes, cookies, squares and cheesecakes and most of them use some kind of pumpkin spice. However, sometimes in cheesecakes I simply use vanilla extract to allow the sweetness in the cheesecake to be greater. Pumpkin purée tends to cut the sweetness of desserts, as do spices such as cloves.

If you like you could use a cream cheese frosting and maybe skip the chocolate chips and keep the muffins plain. There are so many options and that would make them more like pumpkin cupcakes. I would not use any other vegetable oil in these muffins as they tend not to be healthy and they can mask the pumpkin flavor, depending on the oil used.

To get all the batter out of the bowl, use a rubber spatula.

I use the pumpkin purée in a can for this recipe. Canned pumpkin purée is perfect for these muffins. If you like you could also most likely use this recipe to make pumpkin bread. I would double the leavening in that case. These muffins could be jazzed up with a streusel topping of pecans, bake mix, sweetener and butter to make a nice crumble on top. Paper liners could make it easier to get the muffins out of the muffin pan.

Keep leftover muffins after a day in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins:

4 eggs

Liquid sweetener to equal 1¹/₄cups sugar (300 mL)

¹/₂cup light-tasting olive oil (125 mL)

¹/₄cup allulose blend sweetener (60 mL)

1¹/₄cups canned pumpkin (300 mL)

2¹/₄cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR (560 mL)

2¹/₂cups Keto Bake Mix, OR (625 mL)

2 cups (500 mL) almond flour PLUS 4 tbsp (60 mL) oat fiber

1 tbsp cinnamon (15 mL)

¹/₂tsp baking soda (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp baking powder (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp ground ginger (2 mL)

¹/₂tsp nutmeg (2 mL)

¹/₄tsp salt (1 mL)

³/₄cup sugarless chocolate chips (175 mL)

(keep some for the tops of the muffins)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease 2 muffin pans well.

In mixing bowl, combine eggs, liquid sweetener, olive oil, allulose blend sweetener, and canned pumpkin; mix on medium low speed until well combined.

In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR Keto Bake Mix, OR alternative, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, nutmeg and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients; mix. Stir in chocolate chips, keeping some aside for the tops of the muffins. Fill 14 muffin cups almost to the top and put about 2 or three chocolate chips on the tops of the muffin batter. Bake 15 to 18 minutes. Do not over bake.

Variations: Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins: 1 cup (250 mL) frozen unsweetened cranberries chopped finely in food processor. Omit chocolate chips. (6.3 g net carbs)

Apple Pumpkin Muffins: Use apple, peeled and finely chopped. (6.8 g net carbs)

Raisin Nut Pumpkin Muffins: I’ve also made these with raisins, snipped in half and finely chopped walnuts. Use ¹/₃cup (75 mL) in both cases. First soak raisins in boiling water, drain and cut in half (some of the carbs are poured off, I’m sure; however, you can skip this step and just use them as is and snip in half). Carbs are higher but it is a good maintenance-level option. (8.7 g net carbs)

Yield: 14 muffins

1 muffin

221.0 calories

5.3 g protein

17.2 g fat

0.5 g fiber

6.0 g net carbs

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