PALEO - KETO PUMPKIN MUFFINS - the healthy parent

These keto – paleo pumpkin muffins are perfect to get you straight into an Autumn mood. Pumpkin spice and everything’s nice, am I right?! Depending on which sweetener you’ll use, these delicious pumpkin muffins will fit in whichever diet you’re on. If you’re on a paleo diet you can use coconut sugar to sweeten them up. If you’re on keto, you can replace the coconut sugar with erythritol or monk fruit, or any other keto friendly sweetener (One muffin has 7 grams of net carbs).

The ingredients

Flour: For the flour I’m using blanched almond flour mixed a little bit of coconut flour to give them a nice, rather firm consistency.

Sweetener: For the paleo version of these muffins I used coconut sugar. Maple syrup can also be used instead, if that’s your preference. For the keto version you can replace the coconut sugar with golden erythritol (the white one will work as well), monkfruit or stevia.

Spices and flavour: In this recipe I use a pinch of salt, vanilla extract and pumpkin spice.
Make your own pumpkin spice blend by mixing:
– 2 teaspoon of cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
– 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
– 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
You can use 1 teaspoon for the recipe and save the left over spice mix in a jar and save it for when you want to make some other delicious pumpkin spice recipes.

Pumpkin puree: I used fresh home made pumpkin puree, which is really easy to make by peeling, deseeding and cutting a pumpkin and cook in a steamer. Once the pumpkin is cooked I mix it in a blender and save it in a jar in the fridge or the freezer.
If you don’t want to go trough the process of making the pumpkin puree, you can also buy canned pre-made pumpkin puree, which works just fine too.

Eggs: I used free range eggs in this recipe.

KETO – PALEO PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Recipe for 6 muffins

INGREDIENTS

– 2 cups almond flour
– 2 tablespoons coconut flour
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (see ingredient information to make your own blend)
– Pinch of sea salt
– 1/4 cup coconut sugar or maple syrup (paleo version) or 1/2 cup golden erythritol (keto version)
– 1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
– 2 eggs
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 4 tablespoon sliced almonds (to top off)

INSTRUCTONS

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees celsius.
Line out a muffin tin with paper cups.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice, sweetener and salt).
In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla extract with a whisk.
Dig a little hole in the flour blend and add the wet ingredients. Mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula until everything is nicely incorporated.
Evenly transfer the batter into the muffin cups. You can use a spoon or an ice cream scoop for this.
Press the dough slightly into the cups and sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the muffins.
Bake the muffins in the oven for 25-30 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool down before eating.