Yes, another pumpkin muffin recipe.  Guilty as charged.  But these muffins are different because they are grain-free pumpkin date muffins and may be my new fall favorite.

It all started when I was on my 10 mile run this weekend.  Usually when I’m running I think about what I want for breakfast (since I run early in the morning) and what I really wanted was the Carrot Banana Muffins that I’ve made from the True Food Kitchen cookbook numerous times.  But I did not have any carrots or bananas in my house, and the last thing I felt like doing after running 10 miles was hopping in the car and driving to the store.  Naturally we have an abundance of canned pumpkin in the house, so I decided to see if I could sub the pumpkin in for the carrot and banana in the True Food Kitchen recipe.

To be honest, I didn’t take many pictures while I was making the grain-free pumpkin date muffins because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out.  But they turned out delicious!  Almost like mini pumpkin cakes sweetened with maple syrup and dates.

If you want to make these “true” paleo muffins, I would swap the maple syrup for the honey, otherwise these muffins are grain-free and gluten-free which is perfect for a wide variety of diets.

So embrace the pumpkin recipe overload because these are delicious.  Trust me.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Date Muffins (inspired from the True Food Kitchen cookbook)

*Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

3 eggs (I used 1/3 cup + 3 tablespoons egg whites)

1 cup pumpkin

1 1/4 cup dates, pitted

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325F.  Lightly grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Place your dates in a food processor.  Pulse until dates begin to resemble more of a paste.  Add your pumpkin, almond flour, eggs (or egg whites), coconut oil, maple syrup, baking soda, salt and cinnamon to the food processor and pulse until everything is well blended.

(If you don’t have a food processor you can still make these by hand, just make sure your dates are finely chopped.)

Gently spoon your batter into the muffin tins and place in the oven.  Bake for 40-43 minutes.  You’ll know the muffins are done by sticking a toothpick in the center and seeing if it comes out clean.

These muffins have a nice texture to them and are perfect with a pat of butter, chocolate spread, peanut butter, etc. etc.  And since there is minimal sugar in them, they are practically a health food (or so I tell myself).  I just might have to try these muffins as a grain-free pumpkin date bread next.

What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?  Is there something I need to try out next?