Recipe for Almond Flour Pumpkin Donut Muffins

These sweet little gems taste just like donut holes! A pumpkin spin on an old favorite recipe, these muffins are made with almond flour, making them wheat-free, gluten-free and grain-free.

 

I'm always in search of that perfect treat to enjoy with my coffee. Even while losing weight, I've still had a little sweet treat in the morning. With all the sweet recipes I post, you're probably thinking I eat a ton of sweets! I just don't have them as often as I used to and what I do eat is less. Instead of a full-sized muffin, I'll have a mini muffin. Instead of a full slice of banana bread, I'll have half a slice. It's all about not depriving yourself, but not going overboard at the same time. It works! I've lost almost 25 pounds now.

These donut muffins are a perfect example of one of those little treats to have in order to not deprive yourself. They are about 125 calories for each mini muffin. A perfect accompaniment to coffee too! I got the inspiration from my grandma's recipe for Donut Muffins. She got the recipe many years ago from one of her long-time friends. It was published a couple of years ago on allrecipes.com and has enjoyed great success! I wanted to make a pumpkin version for fall. I also wanted to make them wheat-free/gluten-free by using almond flour. Almond flour always works great in muffins, making them so moist.

Here is the resulting recipe! They are not low in sugar, but if you eat only one little mini muffin, it's not too bad. And you wouldn't eat more than one......would you?


Almond Flour Pumpkin Donut Muffins
makes about 30 mini muffins

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup organic canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease mini muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir until thoroughly combined. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, canola oil and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the almond flour mixture and stir until combined.
3. Fill each muffin cup with about a tablespoon of batter (I used my small cookie scoop). Bake for 15 minutes or until muffins test done with a toothpick.
4. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Combine the sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
5. As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip each one into the butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Store only lightly covered so the sugar stays granulated. (If they are stored in an air-tight container, the moisture will make the sugar dissolve.)