Thanksgiving Muffins
Ingredients:
4 tbsp ground golden flaxseed
12 tbsp water
2 cups pureed cooked pumpkin or winter squash (butternut, acorn, etc…) or apples
2/3 cup safflower oil
3/4 cup Agave
1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, dried cranberries, or cooked cranberries (My kids like the cooked cranberries best because they’re softer and I usually cook them with a bit of agave to make them sweeter, but you can also use fresh cranberries if you want a tart/sweet flavor contrast to the muffins or dried cranberries if you want the muffins to have some chewiness and little more sweetness)
3 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend (I usually use a homemade mixture of sorghum, garbanzo bean, and oat flour with arrowroot starch but I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur and Authentic Foods)
2 1/2 tsp spices (any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, allspice and/or cloves are good)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp vinegar (I like to use apple cider vinegar but a white vinegar is fine, too)
Baking Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and fill 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners. (The orange, red-flecked muffins look pretty in a white liner if you put the muffins in a bowl to put on the table for the Thanksgiving meal.)
- Combine the flaxseed with the water and let sit for five minutes.
- In a large bowl mix together the cooked pureed pumpkin or squash or apples with the oil, agave and flaxseed mixture. Set aside.
- In a food processor chop the cranberries, no matter what type you’re using, because this will distribute them more evenly throughout the muffin. Add to the wet mixtures.
- In another bowl mix the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, along with the water and vinegar. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Evenly distribute the batter among the 24 muffin cups. They will be filled almost to the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Muffins will be puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.