Gluten-Free Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Muffins

Earlier this month, if you had told me I'd make–and enjoy!–a flourless muffin, I would have called you crazy. It isn't that gluten-free food isn't delicious. It very much can be! It's just that I'm not allergic or sensitive to gluten, so I want flour in my muffins–and all my baked goods for that matter.

Still, when my friend, colleague, and gluten-sensitive friend Rebecca Longshore needed a worthy treat for her special birthday, I had to step up my game. I went on the Internet hunt for a flourless chocolate muffin that I was sure would impress. I had to combine a few recipes, but I created what is maybe my new favorite fall treat. It's fudgy, like any great brownie should be, but it's also not cloyingly sweet because it has no refined sugar, only a small amount of honey.

Bake on Sunday, and you've got a delicious snack for the entire week. What's more, you get 3 (THREE!) mini muffins in a single serving. That's happy snacking!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Muffins

IngredientsCooking spray3/4 cup pumpkin puree1/2 cup almond butter1 egg6 tbsp honey1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1/2 tsp baking soda2 tbsp ground flaxseed1/2 tsp ground cinnamon1/2 tsp vanilla extract1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray 24 mini muffin wells with cooking spray or mini muffin paper liners.

2. Add pumpkin puree and next 8 ingredients (through vanilla extract) to a blender. (A stand mixer will also work, but an immersion blender will not.) Blend on medium until batter is smooth. Stop and scrap down the sides as needed to thoroughly blend the ingredients.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of batter into each mini muffin well, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Turn muffins out onto a wire rack or sheet of parchment paper.

Serves 8 (serving size: 3 muffins)CALORIES 204; FAT 12.3g (sat 2.1g, mono 6.2g, poly 2.9g); PROTEIN 6g; CARB 23g; FIBER 4g; CHOL 23mg; IRON 2mg; SODIUM 125mg; CALC 75mg; TOTAL SUGARS 17g