The Queen of Quinoa: Mini Quinoa Pumpkin Muffins

Good morning Sunshine.

Happy Friday! What did you have for breakfast this morning? Same old smoothie? Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, not me. My breakfast was fabulous.

Gluten-free muffins. Finally. My mornings are now looking brighter. I have a decadent, soft, amazing baked good to look forward to when I roll out of bed. Sipping my tea with a warm gluten-free muffin in my hand, mmm... my idea of heaven.

Fresh from the oven, packed with my favorite ingredient.

For the longest time, I've convinced myself that baking gluten-free muffins is hard work. I can't tell you why, but each time I stumble upon a yummy gluten-free muffin recipe, I find something else I would rather make.

Like gluten-free cookies. And vegan rice crispy treats. And dairy-free scones. And flourless chocolate cakes.

But for some reason muffins have not been on my menu. Until now that is.

Getting inspiration to bake isn't hard, especially with the amazing world of gluten-free bloggers that I have become a part of. Whenever I'm craving something or am feeling desperate to cook and need some ideas, I'm comforted to know that I can turn to any of these amazing cooks to find what I'm looking for.

But this time, my recipe inspiration came in a different way.

My lovely friend Glenna, who is probably the best baker I know, was making banana bread muffins with raspberries the other day (I know, sounds awesome doesn't it?), and thought to herself, "Since the banana does most of the working holding these muffins together, playing with texture would be easy."

What did she think of? You guessed it. Quinoa, of course. And now that quinoa was in the picture, like any great friend, Glenna thought of me, the Queen of Quinoa.

Pumpkin muffins packed with my favorite nutrient rich ingredient.

Baking with quinoa is one of my favorite things to do. Whether it is a sweet or a savory dish, adding quinoa to meals is always delightful.

I've been needing a new quinoa recipe to try and so this got me thinking about gluten-free muffins. Putting my fear aside, I thought, "Wouldn't a quinoa muffin not only be delicious, but totally healthy too?" I mean really, what could be better than using this protein powerhouse in your baked goods?

Mini Quinoa Pumpkin Muffins smothered in Organic Almond Butter.

And so, the testing began. I started out knowing my goal: a small, healthy muffin that I could eat along side my daily green smoothie or have as a late afternoon snack and not feel guilty about it. After a few tries, and fine-tuning of the recipe, I've finally got it. The perfect little gluten-free muffin, made with quinoa.

Mini Quinoa Pumpkin Muffins

Not too sweet, slightly on the savory side, these little gems are texturally perfect. They're moist, flavorful and very healthy. Made with nutrient rich gluten-free flours, low-calorie fruit purees, and absolutely no refined sugars, you can eat these babies and feel totally guilt-free.

Don't be scared by the ingredient list below. For many of us, these are staples in our gluten-free pantry. And plus, these muffins are so totally worth it.

dry ingredients:

1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon psyllium husks
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

wet ingredients:

1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted melted organic coconut oil
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin
1/2 cup organic coconut palm sugar

optional ingredients:

Stevia to taste (if you like your muffins more sweet)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (if you don't add coconut, reduce your liquid measurements slightly - try halving coconut milk, adding more if needed)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all your dry ingredients, minus the quinoa. Whisk these ingredients together and set aside.

In a separate small bowl, beat you egg, coconut oil and milk together until well combined. Add the pumpkin and mix it in with a wooden spoon. Stir in the coconut sugar.

Add the wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix together.

Stir in the quinoa until it's fully incorporated into the batter. The batter should be light and kind of airy like banana bread - not thick like cookies and not thin like cake. An almost in between texture.

If using, fold in the shredded coconut and chopped walnuts.

Spoon the batter into mini muffin cups, filling about 2/3 of the way full. I use mini silicon baking cups -they're just the best!

Place the muffin cups into a muffin tin (either mini or regular sized) and bake in the center of a warm oven for 18 - 22 minutes. Your muffins are done when you insert a cake tester into the center of the muffin, and it comes out clean.

Serve warm with honey, vegan butter, almond butter or any other ingredients you would like. These are also phenomenal as is.

Makes 9 mini muffins.