Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Let's play a little game of word association. When I say "fall" (as in the season) what comes to mind? I immediately think of changing leaves, sweaters, and pumpkin baked goods. Oh how I love pumpkin baked goods. Before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease I would make loaves and loaves of pumpkin bread every year. In college my roommates would devour a loaf within minutes. 

Since I've been gluten-free, I haven't eaten any pumpkin bread. None. And every year when fall comes around I'm always upset that I can't make it. Or, I can't eat it. But, as you've probably noticed, so far this fall I've been on a major gluten-free baking kick. 

Ever since I made those Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins a few weeks ago I've been wanting to use Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix in another recipe. I've been dying to make pumpkin bread, so I figured why not use the mix and see how it works.

Sadly enough I couldn't find my original pumpkin bread recipe from college, so I ended up amending the Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin recipe and making pumpkin muffins. I really couldn't have been happier with the result. Not only were they delicious, you would never be able to tell they were gluten-free (and I have testament from one of my college roommates, who ate a muffin last night). From now on I'm going to be an evangelist for Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix. Every gluten-free baker (or at least beginner baker) should have a package of this in their pantry. I bought mine at Whole Foods.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

1 & 3/4 cup Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
1/4 cup organic melted butter 
1/2 cup almond milk 
1/2 cup organic white sugar 
1 organic egg
1 cup pure pumpkin (I used Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl and blend together (I used an electric hand mixer). Gently scoop the batter into cupcake liners in the muffin tin. Fill batter almost to the top leaving a little space for the muffins to rise. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure to test with a knife or a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through. 

You could easily make a loaf of bread instead of muffins using this exact same recipe, although the cooking time may be slightly different. 

I can assure you my apartment will be filled with the delicious smell of pumpkin muffins or bread throughout the entire fall. It's been three years, people! 

Two more things. First, I forgot to wish you a happy National Celiac Awareness Day last Thursday. And second, I have to share this picture I took at the Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg yesterday. Love it. 

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

My apartment smelled incredible last night. Why, you ask? Because I was making gluten-free blueberry muffins.

 I'll be honest, I had my doubts. Up until now I really haven't experimented too much with gluten-free baking. I've never made muffins, or cupcakes, or bread. Well, let me tell you, I am a changed woman.

A lot of my favorite gluten-free bloggers are big into baking. And of course everything they make looks amazing. Which is intimidating. Right? I figured it would be easy enough to start off with something relatively simple, like muffins, and take it from there. I spent some time researching gluten-free blueberry muffin recipes  (because let's be honest, who doesn't love homemade blueberry muffins), and finally came across this recipe from Confessions of a Gluten Free Mom. I ultimately chose this because it only required seven ingredients, whereas some of the other recipes I came across required at least 16 (like this one). Not only did I find those recipes slightly intimidating, I didn't want to break the bank on my first try.

What makes this recipe so easy is that it uses Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix (gluten-free, of course), so I didn't have to buy five different kinds of flour. And let me tell you, I'm sold on this mix. It's delicious. And not just gluten-free delicious. Delicious delicious. I was licking the beaters, spatula, and mixing bowl until there wasn't anything left to lick. Don't judge me.

And the muffins were even better than the raw batter! Shocker, I know. But seriously. They were so good. Fortunately my gluten-free partner in crime (The Wardrobe from the adorable blog The Whisk and The Wardrobe) is in town from Boston for Fashion Week and was kind enough to be my guinea pig last night. She loved them too.

So there are two takeaways from this: 1) never be afraid to try new recipes (and if you are, find a fairly simple recipe and work your way up from there), and 2) go buy yourself a package of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix. Last night as I was falling asleep I started to make a mental list of recipes I want to try with it.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

Yields 15 muffins
Total cooking time, including prep: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 & 3/4 cup Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
1/4 cup organic melted butter (the original recipe called for coconut oil, but I decided to use butter this time)
1/2 cup almond milk (the original recipe called for coconut milk, you could also use regular milk)
1/2 cup organic white sugar (the muffins were a little sweet, so you could probably use less if you wanted)
1 organic egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I added this because I love cinnamon and think it really adds to the flavor of the muffins)
1 cup blueberries (the original recipe called for 3/4 cup, but I figured the more the merrier)
15 cupcake liners

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix all ingredients together except blueberries (I used a hand-held beater). Gently pour and fold in the blueberries so you dont turn your batter purple. Gently scoop batter into cupcake liners in the muffin tin. Fill batter almost to the top leaving a little space for rising.

Bake for 30 minutes (the original recipe said 22-25 minutes, but mine needed more time). Make sure to test with a knife or a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through. Enjoy!

Pip's Place

I don't have a recipe for you today, but I do have an amazing gluten-free bakery recommendation: Pip's Place, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (1st Ave. between 89th & 90th St.).

Pip's Place has only been open for a few months and so far I have been thoroughly impressed. Luckily for me it's right around the corner from my boyfriend's apartment, so every time I'm up there I pop in and try one (or, let's be honest, five) of their delicious baked goods.

What are those, you ask? Oh, just the most incredible Peppermint Pippi Cookies I've ever had (some sort of delicious chocolate cookies with a peppermint cream filling). And yes, they're gluten-free. And no, there's no way you would ever guess they're gluten-free. Even my boyfriend, who's subject to tasting a lot of my gluten-free foods (sorry!), couldn't get enough of these. Pip's Place, your work is done. (Just kidding. Keep the new recipes coming. Pretty please.)

I'm also a big fan of their Oatmeal Rasin Cookies and Zuchinni Bran Pecan Muffins.

You know what else I love about Pip's Place? The story behind it. The owner, Denise Cumming, said that when her daughter Olivia (nicknamed Pippi) was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at the age of fourteen, she was determined to create wonderful recipes from gluten-free ingredients. Not long after Olivia started eating a gluten-free diet she said to Denise, "Mom, do people really feel this good every day?" If you have a food allergy, whether it be gluten or something else, you have no idea what it's like to feel "good" until you cut that food out of your diet. And all of a sudden it opens up this whole new world for you. The day I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease was honestly one of the happiest days of my life. I finally knew why I had been feeling so sick for so long, and better yet, there was a simple enough solution: cut out gluten. Amen.

People always ask me whether I miss eating things like pizza or bread, which they can't imagine living without. Here's my answer, folks: Not. One. Bit. And thanks to people like Denise Cumming, I don't have to.

You can become a fan of Pip's Place on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and visit their website.