The Best Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins (gluten, tree nut, soy, corn free, no sugar added, and dairy free option)

Tis the season for all things pumpkin! Pumpkin is one of my all time favorite flavors and scents.  It screams autumn to me and I long for autumn all year long.  The crisp air, and dampness.  The vibrant leaves, and the musty, earthy smells.  It all speaks to my soul.  Naturally, as autumn approaches, pumpkins pop up everywhere, along with the sugary, fake pumpkin items in the store. 

Even before we had to accommodate food allergies or my restrictions with weight loss surgery, I always spent a few weekends stock piling pumpkin, banana and zucchini bread in the freezer so I would have it on hand at a moments notice.  I have had to make a few modifications to my recipe. I use the same basic base for all of my quick bread, and it originated with banana bread which was the very first recipe I ever created 100% on my own.  Don't worry, I will be sharing that as well! This recipe yields a flavorful, moist muffin that satisfies your craving without killing your calorie count for the day.

Lets jump right in shall we??

To start, you will need 1 1/2C gf flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2teaspoon salt, 1/2C Splenda, 1/2C Splenda brown sugar blend, 1 stick butter, 2 eggs, 1 can pure pumpkin, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

 How gorgeous is that pumpkin?!

In the bowl of your mixer, combine both sugars, butter, and pumpkin.  Mix until combined. 

 Then, mix in both eggs.

Finally, add in the flour, spices, soda and salt.  Mix until just combined.  You DONT want to over mix!

You will be left with a fairly thick, delectable batter.

To prevent the muffins from sticking to the papers, I spray them with a little cooking spray before filling.  Fill each paper with your batter.  Since it is thicker, you may want to wet your finger and lightly tap down any lumps and bumps. 

I add a quick oatmeal crumble topping to mine.  To make it, mix together 1/2C old fashioned oats, 2Tablespoons butter, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over muffins.

Bake at 350' for 25-30 mins.

Cool, and enjoy!

Little Mister couldn't wait to dig in, and grabbed some off the plate while I was photographing them!

Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 1/2C Gluten free flour ( I use Bobs Red Mill Cup for Cup) or use a regular all purpose, though this will change your nutrition stats a little
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2C Splenda
1/2C Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
2 eggs
1/2C butter, softened (to make dairy free, see notes below)
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Optional Oat Topping

1/2C old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Nutrition Fact Without Topping (with topping listed in parenthesis)
Serving size 1 Muffin

187 calories (222)
9.2g fat (11.4)
22.6g carbs (26)
2.8g fiber (3.7)
10g sugar (10.1)
3g protein (3.6)

*To save extra calories, omit topping and replace butter with 1/2C unsweetened applesauce, and use 1 Cup Splenda, omitting Splenda brown sugar blend

Nutrition facts with the edits above
Serving Size-1 muffin

84 calories
1.5g fat
15.9 carbs
3.1 g fiber
2.9g sugar
2.9g protein

Orange Pineapple Chicken Drums (Gluten, Tree Nut, Peanut, Dairy, Egg Free)

When we first went gluten free with Little Miss, there was a period of time where it felt like we would never be able to enjoy a lot of our favorite foods anymore. There was a definite learning curve and a period of mourning over the foods we were going to miss out on.  Now of course, once we got our footing with the new dietary restrictions in our home, we learned of the multitude of amazing products that are available in the gluten free world.  I am going to feature one such company with this recipe.  One of our favorite take out dinners is Chinese.  Between the sauces used, the breading on things like sweet and sour chicken, noodles, and the soy sauce, there is hidden wheat everywhere when ordering Chinese in.  We have found a couple local joints that we can go safely, but I still prefer to cook at home. 

Several years ago I entered a giveaway on Facebook hosted by another gluten free family for San-J products.  I had never heard of the brand before but loved that they offer products like gluten free soy sauce, Mongolian marinades, Thai peanut sauce, and so much more.  We quickly fell in love with their line of products and use them regularly in sauces, marinades, stir fry, etc.

I received this great set from Moms Meet to try and review with my family and it was such a great fit with what I share here as well. 

For dinner last night we decided to try a new San-J product, the Orange Sauce.  It boasts a strong orange flavor with a subtle saltiness of soy sauce.  Using other items I already had, I made a flavorful chicken dinner that everyone enjoyed.


In addition to the orange sauce, you will need crushed pineapple, chopped yellow onion, black pepper, garlic powder, and ginger

Mix 1cup orange sauce, 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup diced onion, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ginger in a small bowl. 

Pour over your chicken, coat evenly, and refrigerate 4-8 hours, stirring to recoat chicken occasionally.

Place chicken in large baking dish, top with a spoonful or two of your marinade and bake at 375' for 45 minutes or until thermometer reads 165'.

I served with baked sweet potatoes.

Orange Pineapple Chicken

1C San-J Orange sauce

1/2C crushed pineapple

1/2 C diced onion

1T garlic powder

1t black pepper

1/2t ground ginger

2lbs chicken drumsticks, or cut of your choice

Preheat oven to 375'. Mix first 6 ingredients together in small bowl.  Place chicken in large bowl, and pour maridade over.  Stir chicken to coat.  Cover and refrigerate 4-8 hours, stirring occasionally to re-coat chicken.  Place chicken in baking dish and top with a spoonful or two of the marinade.  Bake for 45 minutes or until thermometer reads 165'. 

Nutrtion facts for the marinade

Serving Size-2T

Number of servings-16

Calories-43

Fat-0g

Sodium-171mg

Carbs-10g

Sugar-7.7g

Protein-1g

*I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer.  As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog.  The opinions posted are my own.