Gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Muffins

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was from my second mommy (or third, depending on how you look at it), The Deb. It was the cook book from Baby Cakes, a gluten-free, mostly vegan bakery in downtown Manhattan. www.babycakesnyc.com

The book has all their delicious baked goods from muffins and cupcakes to cookies and cobblers. For someone who has recently been attempting to figure out this gluten allergy thing, this may become my new best friend. At first glance, a lot of the ingredients looked quite suspect and I had no idea how I would find them, because I hadn't even heard of half of them. That is, until I went to the natural foods store and was easily able to find everything with a little help from the store clerk. The gluten free stuff tends to be a tad more pricey than "regular" ingredients, but well worth it to not have to deal with the effects of the gluten!

The recipe was extremely easy. I did end up adding more cook time to get the toothpick to come out slightly clean, about 4 more minutes or so (and it still didn't come out completely clean). But after letting them sit in the muffin tins for a few minutes, they came out incredibly moist and really tasty!

I also provided some pictures of the ingredients, so you know what you're looking for at the store. 

BabyCakes Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger (this provides a lot of spice, so if you'd prefer more traditional pumpkin and less "spice" you may want to substitute this with something like nutmeg and/or pumpkin pie spice- I might give that a try next time)
1/2 cup coconut oil (this comes solid, but you need to melt it in the microwave first, coincidentally you can also rub it in you hair or on your heels for softness!)
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup rice milk
2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/2 cup hot water


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line standard muffin tin with paper liners
In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. 
Add the oil, agave nectar, rice milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients.
Stir until smooth and thick.
Using a spatula, fold in the pumpkin and hot water until both are evenly distributed throughout the batter. 
Pour 1/3 cup batter into prepared muffin cups, almost filling them. 
Bake muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 10 minutes. 
The finished muffins will be soft to the touch, and a toothpick will come out clean.
Let muffins sit in tins  for about 15 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. 

Store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Bob's Red Mill brand comes highly recommended by BabyCakes, and no, xanthan gum is not really gum.