Going Gluten Free

Some of you may have noticed that my recipes are frequently gluten free. That's because I'm slowly going gluten free (and feeling much better as I go!). I've found a lot of ways to substitute high gluten things in my diet, but by far the biggest challenge will be substituting flour in baking (I've been avoiding it).

So tonight, I turned over a new leaf and baked gluten free pumpkin muffins. It's actually the exact same recipe as my usual pumpkin muffins, I just substituted the regular flour for gluten free--and to my glee, they came out great! My favorite part of these muffins are the fresh cranberries--the little burst of tartness balances the sweetness of the sugar really nicely. And of course, nuts make everything richer, in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I can't say any gluten free flour would work since I've only tried it with one brand, but if you've used others, feel free to comment and let me know.

Addendum: If you don't like or are allergic to pumpkin (sorry SG!), you could substitute cooked & pureed squash or carrots, although you may need to increase the dry/decrease the wet ingredients just a bit for the right consistency.

Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 (14 oz) can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 heaping Tbsp pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Using a whisk, combine eggs, pumpkin, applesauce, sugar, pumpkin spice, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Whisk in baking soda and baking powder, then flour until just combined; don't overmix.
4. Fold in pecans and cranberries with a rubber spatula.
5. Divide batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake 12-15 minutes or until risen and firm, and edges are a golden brown.

The cost:
eggs: .33
pumpkin: 1.49
applesauce: .35
sugar: .45
flour: 3.50 (I only used 1/3 of the package but I had  to buy it new, luckily on sale!)
nuts: .40
cranberries: .33

Grand total: $6.52 ($5.36 once gluten free flour becomes a staple)