Grain free pumpkin muffins from seven ingredients. Eight muffins, forty minutes.
Blanched almond flour, not almond meal
Two cups, and the recipe is specific.
Blanched almond flour is made from skinned almonds ground fine. Almond meal includes the skins and is coarser, which gives a heavier, darker and more crumbly muffin.
In a recipe with no wheat flour at all, that difference is structural rather than cosmetic. The fine grind is what holds these together.
They are sold side by side and the packaging is similar, so check before buying.
Baking soda needs the honey and pumpkin
Half a teaspoon, with no baking powder anywhere.
Soda requires acid to react, and here it comes from the honey, which is mildly acidic, plus the pumpkin.
Three eggs are doing much of the lifting alongside it. Almond flour has no gluten to trap gas, so the structure comes from egg protein setting rather than from a developed crumb.
That is also why these need the full baking time. Underbaked, they collapse as they cool.
Purée the wet ingredients together
Honey, eggs and pumpkin blended until smooth.
Roasted pumpkin is fibrous and it will not break down by stirring. Blending gives a smooth base that then folds into the almond flour evenly.
It also emulsifies the honey, which is dense and would otherwise sink through the batter.
A blender or food processor both work.
Well packed pumpkin
A cup, which the recipe specifies.
Roasted pumpkin holds air pockets if spooned loosely, and a loosely measured cup can be a third less by weight than a packed one. In a seven ingredient recipe that shifts the moisture balance noticeably.
Press it into the cup with the back of a spoon.
Canned purée substitutes and is already dense, so it needs no packing.
Thirty to thirty five minutes at 350F
Which is long for eight muffins.
Almond flour batters bake more slowly than wheat ones and they brown faster on the surface. The extended time lets the centre set without the outside burning.
If the tops are browning too quickly, a loose sheet of foil over them solves it.
Cool a full hour
Which the recipe states and which is unusual for muffins.
Grain free muffins are fragile while warm because there is no gluten network holding them. They firm considerably as they cool and the structure sets.
Removed hot from the liners, they tear. An hour is what the recipe asks for and it is worth following.
Honey as the only sweetener
Half a cup.
That is a liquid sweetener, which adds moisture as well as sweetness. It also browns faster than granulated sugar, contributing to the surface colour.
Honey should not be given to children under twelve months.
What the source leaves out
No nutrition figures at all.
Nothing has been filled in, since none was published. Almond flour, honey and eggs make these calorie-dense relative to a conventional muffin, and the fat is largely from the almonds.
A cup and a half of pumpkin pie spice worth of flavour
A teaspoon and a half, which is generous for eight muffins.
Almond flour has a distinct nutty flavour of its own, and mild spicing gets lost against it. A teaspoon and a half registers clearly.
If you only have individual spices, roughly a teaspoon of cinnamon with a quarter teaspoon each of ginger and nutmeg and a pinch of cloves covers it.
Eight muffins, not twelve
Which is worth noting before you reach for a standard tin.
Two cups of almond flour with three eggs and a cup of pumpkin fills eight cups generously rather than twelve thinly. Divided across twelve, the muffins are shallow and bake faster than the stated time.
Use every other cup if your tin holds twelve, which helps them bake evenly.
Paper liners
Which the method specifies.
Almond flour batters stick to bare tins more than wheat ones, and there is no flour to dust with. Liners are the simple solution.
Roasting your own pumpkin
The source links to its own method for this. Canned puree substitutes directly at a cup and needs no packing, since it is already dense.
Storing
Three days at room temperature in an airtight container, or three months frozen. They stay moist thanks to the honey and the almond flour.
Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins
Description
Simple almond flour pumpkin muffins sweetened with honey and spiced with pumpkin pie spice.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350F and place paper liners in a muffin pan, since almond flour batters stick to bare tins.
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In a large bowl combine the blanched almond flour, sea salt, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice.
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In a blender, puree the honey, eggs and roasted pumpkin until smooth. Blending rather than stirring breaks down the fibrous pumpkin and emulsifies the honey so it does not sink.
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Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined.
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Divide the batter between the paper liners and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Tent loosely with foil if the tops brown before the centres set.
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Cool a full hour before serving, as grain free muffins are fragile while warm and tear if handled early..
Note
Use blanched almond flour rather than almond meal, which the source specifies: meal includes the skins and is coarser, giving a heavier crumblier muffin, and in a recipe with no wheat flour that difference is structural. The baking soda reacts with the honey and pumpkin, with three eggs doing much of the lifting since almond flour has no gluten to trap gas. Puree the honey, eggs and pumpkin together rather than stirring, since roasted pumpkin is fibrous and will not break down by hand. Pack the pumpkin into the cup, as a loosely measured cup can be a third less by weight. The 30 to 35 minute bake is long for eight muffins because almond flour batters set slowly while browning fast; tent with foil if the tops darken early. Cool a full hour, since grain free muffins are fragile warm and tear. Honey is not suitable for children under twelve months. The source gives no nutrition figures.