Paleo Pumpkin Walnut Muffins – Recipe!

Here’s the thing, I love pumpkin and I don’t see why we need to limit our pumpkin consumption only during the fall months of the year.  Yes, pumpkins are harvested during September and October, however canned pumpkin is readily available all year long.  Pumpkin is not only loaded with vitamins and minerals, but it adds personality to food, especially baked goods, without adding additional sugar.  It turns a basic muffin into something you can actually enjoy in the morning with a good cup of coffee.

For those of you not familiar with the Paleo Diet, it’s basically not cooking or baking with the white stuff like, white flour or granulated sugar.  So, substituting almond flour and a bit of tapioca starch is a good replacement in baking, because the combination of the two, still gives a muffin structure without it tasting granular or heavy.  Gluten-Free flours tend to be just starches with the addition of white rice flour.  There’s not much fiber there and for me, not much taste either, so I tend to use almond flour where I can.

I’ll only bake Paleo if I think the quality of the recipe is just as good as a regular recipe and that’s definitely the case here.  The walnuts add a bit of unexpected texture that I think is delicious and the overall muffin is just plain good.

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

(Makes 10 Muffins)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease muffin pan, set aside.
2. In a stand mixer or large bowl, add almond flour, tapioca starch, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir on low to combine.
3. Add eggs, pumpkin, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla, stir for 2 minutes on medium speed until combined.
4. Remove bowl from stand and stir walnuts in by hand.  Using an ice cream scoop, dollop batter into muffin cups.
5. Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes or until slightly puffed and golden.  Remove and let cool 8 minutes before removing from pan.  Enjoy!