Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes

So it's pumpkin season, and I'm taking part enthusiastically this year. I don't usually like pumpkin, mostly because I haven't really given it a chance. I just wrote it off as gross after a really bad store-bought pumpkin pie. I made my first pumpkin pie this year for thanksgiving and actually liked it. Also I received a pumpkin from someone last week and I'm going to prepare it tomorrow which is really exciting for me because I haven't done so before. Do you make your own pumpkin puree?

I brought these to my parents going away dinner a few weeks ago and everyone there liked them.  It really makes me so happy to come up with gluten free replacements for everything I used to eat, even when things like a cupcake aren't things I'd eat everyday.  There is such comfort in knowing I can make them whenever I want, and that they will taste just as good as one made with wheat flour. 

Yes, this post is picture heavy, because of course these cupcakes tasted good, but look how CUTE they are too! Perfect for bringing out to an event.

For these cute cupcakes, I used tinned pumpkin. And I topped them with a cinnamon cream cheese buttercream icing, but they are just as good without icing. I hope you try them and like them.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18-20 minutes

Yield:16-18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 280 grams all-purpose gluten free flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum if your mix doesn’t include it
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 113 grams butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (or coconut sugar, xylitol, or ½ cup truvia)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (canned)
• ½ cup milk with ½ teaspoon vinegar (or half cup buttermilk)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line muffin tin with paper cups.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Cream together butter and sugar until very light in color and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, and mix to combine.
5. Add vanilla, pumpkin and milk and mix again.
6. Add dry ingredients, half at a time, mix until flour is incorporated.
7. Fill muffin cup with batter, just over halfway.
8. Bake until done (about 20 minutes). Check for doneness with a toothpick – they are done if the toothpick comes out with a few crumbs, no wet batter.
9. Let cool, and then serve as is, or top with icing for a sweeter treat. In the photos, I topped them with cinnamon cream cheese buttercream.

Sugar Cookies (Gluten Free)

Gluten free decorated sugar cookies. I realize I’m a bit late for Halloween in posting these pumpkin cookies, but the good thing about sugar cookies is, with different shapes and icing they are a year round cookie. Yum! So get your snowman and Santa cutters out, because Christmas is right around the corner.  (Only 51 days!!)

A couple notes about these cookies:

I used Xylitol, a natural sweetener, for these cookies.   It can be used 1:1 with refined white sugar, so I’m sure white sugar would work in this recipe, I’ll give it a try in the next few days.  I use xylitol occasionally as a refined white sugar substitute, (as I do with coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup and stevia all where appropriate), because I do quite a bit of baking and testing recipes and I feel better asking family to test so many recipes when I’ve used ingredients that I feel are a bit healthier. (I freeze a lot of baking too).   Xylitol has a lower effect on a person’s blood sugar and a Glycemic Index of 7. Refined white sugar is 68.  High Fructose Corn Syrup is 100.

These are just my feelings; I do not think everyone needs to agree with me. Use what you want to use.  If you do use xylitol, here is some things I observed, making this recipe twice in row: if you use the xylitol as is, the crystals are a bit larger in size, and seem to keep their size and crunch, so there will be subtle crunchy bits in the cookies. The second time I made them, I processed the xylitol in a spice/coffee grinder to a powder, and it blended seamlessly with the butter. The cookie tasted great both ways.

Also, when baking them, I used a light metal half sheet pan lined with parchment for some cookies – these ones took about 14 minutes total.  I used a darker cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat for the rest of the cookies and these ones took only 10 minutes to bake.  So when you make these, watch your cookies closely. 

If you’re still with me after this tremendously long post, thanks for reading and I hope you make and enjoy these cookies.  Share pictures with me if you do! 

Sugar Cookies

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10-14 minutes

Yield:2-3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 227 grams butter (room temperature)
• 200 grams sugar (I used xylitol but white sugar in the same amount should work)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 280 grams all-purpose gluten free flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum if your mix does not include it
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until it's a really light yellow (I use a stand mixer)
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking. Add this dry mixture to the sugar and butter, half at a time, and mix well.
5. Scoop dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. (This makes it easier to cut out shapes.)
6. Flour counter with tapioca starch and use half of the dough (put the rest back in plastic in the fridge.)
7. Roll out dough until about an eighth of an inch to a quarter of an inch thick or so.
8. Dip a cookie cutter in some of the tapioca starch on the counter and cut out cookies.
9. Place cut cookies on a pan lined with either parchment paper or a non-stick baking sheet (like Silpat)
10. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges.
11. Repeat with other half of dough.
12. Let cool completely before icing.