Pumpkin Muffins, Two Ways (GF and non-GF)

 

When I was little, I never saw any connection between the celebrations on the 4th of July and American patriotism. The fireworks, to me, were not an affirmation of my country's independence, but were rather a universal celebration of a far more important occasion: my father's birthday. As proud Canadians, my parents did little to convince me otherwise. My mother's partial American heritage inspired the color-coordinated raspberries, blueberries, and whipped cream that we ate every year with our scones with July 4th rolled around, but other than that it was my father's day entirely. 

Having made two large batches of pumpkin muffins yesterday for no distinct reason, this year we threw caution to the winds and replaced the traditional scones and cream with hearty streusel-topped muffins. Although they were rather unseasonal and lacked the patriotic color scheme of the scones and berries, I have reassured myself with the fact that the muffin is a far more "American" pastry than the quintessentially British scone. 

After making a batch of regular pumpkin muffins, I felt guilty that my gluten-intolerant mother could not partake so I proceeded to make another batch of muffins, this time gluten-free. The gluten-free recipe is an entirely different recipe all together, and the two recipes yielded very different products. The first recipe, with gluten, I adapted from a pumpkin coffee cake recipe. It is deliciously moist and cakey, made even more decadent by the crunchy streusel topping. The second recipe, without gluten, is more subtle and lighter. I will post both recipes and you can choose which you prefer. The muffins in the pictures are all of the glutinous variety. By the time I was ready to put the gluten-free muffins in the oven I was far too exhausted to make them look beautiful, so they were not quite camera-ready. 

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod 

Ingredients

   Streusel

     2/3 cup flour

     1/2 cup packed brown sugar

     1 tsp ground cinnamon

     1/8 tsp salt

     6 tbsp butter, diced (if using salted butter, omit the salt above)

   Muffins

     1 1/2 cups flour

     2 tsp baking powder

     1/2 tsp baking soda

     2 tsp ground cinnamon

     1/2 tsp ground ginger

     1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

     1/8 tsp ground allspice

     1/2 tsp salt (1/4 tsp if using salted butter)

     1/2 cup butter, room temperature

     1 cup packed brown sugar

     2 eggs

     1 tsp vanilla extract

     1/2 cup pumpkin purée 

     1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (sour cream could probably be substituted)

Instructions

   Streusel

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse in the butter until the mixture forms small crumbles. Set aside until muffin batter is prepared.

   Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line two muffin pans with cupcake liners. 

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

Cream the butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Beat in the eggs, making sugar to scrape down the sides of the bowl as the butter-sugar mixture will have a tendency to stick. Add the vanilla, pumpkin, and yogurt and mix just until combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Scoop the batter into the muffin pan so that each well of the pan is a little over half way full. Sprinkle generously with streusel and bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and allow them to cool on a rack.

 Pumpkin Muffins (GF)

Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande
Ingredients 

     1/2 cup sugar

     2 eggs

     7 tbsp butter, melted

     2/3 cup puréed pumpkin

     1/3 cup buttermilk

     Pinch of salt

     1 tsp baking soda

     1 tsp baking powder

     1/2 cup quinoa flour

     1/2 cup brown rice flour

     1/4 cup tapioca flour

     1/4 cup sweet white rice flour

     1 tsp ground cinnamon

     1 tsp ground ginger

     1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

  Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until pale. Add the butter and beat until combined. Stir in the buttermilk and pumpkin.

In another bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Whisk to combine.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. 

Divide the mixture among the twelve wells of the muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.