Paleo Pumpkin-Almond Muffins

I recently decided to become Paleo. Yes, I’m now a “cavewoman.” Fine, I’m just eating like one. I absolutely love the fall season, especially pumpkin! Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin beer are among my favorites.

I am still dedicated to buying local foods. However, the Paleo diet is limiting my choices because of some of the obscure ingredients I am required to use. I went to Harris Teeter to purchase most of the products for my homemade Paleo Pumpkin-Almond Muffins. I bought a can of organic pumpkin for about 3 dollars. There was only brand of almond meal/flour produced in Milwaukie, Oregon by Bob’s Red Mill. It set me back quite a few bucks too! Sheesh, 11 bucks for a small bag of this stuff. Thankfully, I had local eggs from Latta Farms on hand and some local honey produced by one of my old college buddies. I had all of the spices in my kitchen cabinet (thank you, Mom). The almond butter I used was from Trader Joe’s and also contains roasted flaxseeds. After reading quite a few Paleo blogs and tips, I created a recipe.

Paleo Pumpkin-Almond Muffins

Yield: 10 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup almond meal/flour
1 cup canned organic pumpkin
2 eggs
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend well by hand.
3. Use paper liners and divide muffin mix among 10 cups.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are cooked all the way through.
5. Cool and then serve.

I know you’re not supposed to eat raw eggs but I had to try the batter. I licked the spatula. The batter earned my seal of approval! These suckers were going to be delicious, I could already tell.

My goodness! The aroma of these muffins is absolutely overwhelming. My roommate has trouble smelling and she could even smell them when she walked in the door! I was trying to contain my excitement as pumpkin and cinnamon filled the air.

Perhaps the best part about driving to the grocery store, laboring in the kitchen and torturing yourself by the smell of pumpkin is what? You guessed it, eating! The muffins were extremely moist and I enjoyed the slight crunch from the almond butter. The nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla remind me of the crisp fall weather that is slowly beginning to approach North Carolina. I highly suggest this recipe and let me know how you like my Paleo Pumpkin-Almond Muffins!