So, I tried to fight it for as long as I could.

But try as I might, summer is on it’s way out this week (although it has gone out quite nicely – I mean, I’ll take sunshine and 25 degrees celsius any day for a Canadian September!!).

And with crisp night time air, we start thinking of autumn flavours and food that fills your belly.  I don’t know about you but the first thing I think of is pumpkin and apples (stew and polenta are a close second!).

Won’t you join me in welcoming Fall this week??  Maybe if we’re nice, it won’t snow until like March 1st!!

Ingredients:

Muffins:

2 1/4 c quinoa flour

1 c gluten free flour blend (or all purpose flour)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c milk + 1 tbsp vinegar, combine to curdle (or you can use buttermilk)

2 c pumpkin puree (canned) or mashed sweet potato *

3/4 c brown sugar

3/4 c coconut sugar

1/2 c applesauce

1/2 c olive oil

4 eggs

*when I have leftover cooked sweet potato, I mash it up and freeze it…then I can defrost it for instant added goodness to smoothies, pancakes or muffins!!

Healthy Cream Cheese Icing:

1 block reduced fat cream cheese

1 c plain yogurt, drained to remove whey

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 c brown rice syrup (or use honey if brown rice syrup isn’t available)

1 c powdered sugar

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 and grease 24 mini muffin tins plus 12 regular muffin tins (or you can bake it in small cake tins (like below) or an 8″ square baking pan).
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour mix, quinoa flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt; set aside.
3. If you are making your own buttermilk (combining milk and vinegar), then make sure you let it sit for enough time for it to curdle a bit (10 minutes should do it).
4. Combine the buttermilk and eggs in a small bowl, whisking well; set aside.
5. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin/sweet potato puree, both sugars, apple sauce and oil, mix well.
6. Add the soured milk/buttermilk and eggs to the pumpkin mixture and stir well.

7.  Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir gently to combine (make sure the flour is totally combined!).

8.  Divide the batter between the pans and place into the oven on the middle rack.

9.  The cakes/muffins will be done when it springs back in the middle (around 50  minutes for a large cake, 15-20 minutes for the regular muffins and 10-12 minutes  for mini muffins).

Voila!!!!

Look at the insides…fluffy, gluten free muffins (fluffy and gluten free don’t often go hand in hand!!).

And, if you would like to try your hand at chocolate pumpkin muffins. just add 1/3 cocoa to the dry ingredients. You’ll get even the pickiest eaters to try it (see below):

Now, for the icing, just whip all of the ingredients together, spread  onto the muffins/cake and serve immediately (iced cupcakes/cake can be  frozen and defrosted at room temperature at a later date!).

Try these for your Thanksgiving table.

Be prepared to be cheered…totally cheer-worthy!!