The Feathered Garden: Sugar & Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins!

Well, I started making low sugar/sugar free stuff for my darling two year old niece Lucinda Sue, and then realised it may not be such a bad idea to switch to these options for myself :)

Certainly I would not give a lot of the food I used to eat, (and still occasionally indulge in), to my niece, or in fact my chooks, which tells me something about the quality of food I used to eat a lot more of : white bread, white rice, sugar sugar sugar!.

:( It is a long road to a completely guilt free diet.

So onto this yummy recipe that I have to say I do enjoy :) despite the lack of sugar!

Ingredients:

Filling & topping

225 g cream cheese (check that it does not contain sugar - most low fat versions do!)

1 small (30g bantam) egg

1 teaspoon organic vanilla bean paste

2 tbsp. rice malt syrup

3/4 cup toasted pecans

Muffins

1 cup plain gluten free flour
1 2/3 cup almond meal (gives it a lovely texture but does add calories so feel free to use the equivalent in plain flour if you prefer)
1 cup rice malt syrup
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

(Note: Some recipesI have tried also suggest 1/4 tsp cloves - I find it doesn't need it and if you are cooking for kids probably a no-no)

1 cup pumpkin puree (make this from either oven roasted Japanese Pumpkin or cooked up in the microwave - but it is very easy to roast it with the skin on in the oven and then scoop out the flesh once cooked and I think the flavour is better :))
1 cup of vegetable oil (I will be posting soon about healthy vs non healthy oils) Grapeseed seems to be generally seen as good for baking however.
2 eggs (normal size!)
1 teaspoon organic vanilla bean paste (not just being snobby - this paste is AMAZINGLY more intense than the essence but pricier too - give it a go and decide for yourself) or use two tsps. vanilla essence instead.

How to make them...

1. Mix all the dry ingredients with a whisk i.e. spices, almond meal, flour and baking powder.

2. Next mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl with a wooden spoon (ie the pumpkin puree, rice malt syrup, vanilla, eggs and oil)

3. Then mix the wet and dry ingredients together in one bowl with a wooden spoon until just combined and spoon into pre-prepared (= spraying with oil or butter so the muffins slip out of the patties easily) muffin patties.

4. Mix your filling ingredients, (cream cheese, vanilla paste and one bantam egg - I used one of the Jappies so around 30g. However if you don't have a bantam egg handy just use 1/2 an egg (beat and use half the mix) or a normal size egg and increase the mix for the cream cheese - that can't be bad surely? :).

(Check out the size difference between an average size and bantam size egg! )

Look at that gorgeous vanilla bean paste on the beater! You can even SEE the vanilla bean seeds!!

5. Spoon your muffins mix into your pre-prepared patties and pop a dollop (one teaspoon or less) of your cream cheese mix into each, swirling through a little with a skewer or chopstick.

6. Dry roast your pecans in a pan or the oven, and either chop once cooled, pressing chopped pieces into the tops of the muffins, or use whole or half pecans for a different visual effect.

If you decide you can't bear totally sugar free, a sprinkle of Demerera sugar adds crunch to the cream cheese topping - or for the sugar free alternative crunch factor you can try toasted pumpkin kernels.