Gus requested a recipe for a meeting of his Farm to Table Seminar. It’s the end of October, so the first one that came to mind was for Harvest Muffins, one of our easiest, most successful GF recipes. When baking GF it’s especially important to measure/weigh ingredients accurately. I like to use a scale, a practice I was dragged to because I needed to accurately determine the carbohydrates in the portions of food I was baking for Gus so he could precisely calculate the amount of insulin to take.
This recipe calls for coconut flour and Montina, Indian Rice Grass, both of which are high in fiber, but one can substitute sorghum flour. Bottom line: you’ll need the equivalent of 2 1/2 cups (15 oz.) GF flour when making a whole batch of muffins.
GFG “Secret GF Flour Mix
While I often incorporate a variety of other flours into recipes, this is the base for just about everything I bake. Trader Joe’s GF Flour Mix contains the same ingredients in similar proportions.
1 Part/Cup White Rice Flour
1 Part/Cup Brown Rice Flour
2/3 Part/Cup Potato Starch “Flour”
1/3 Part/Cup Tapioca Flour
HARVEST MUFFINS (Makes 24 regular sized muffins – can also be baked as a loaf or cake with or without a streusel topping.)
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (12 oz.) GF Flour Mix (yours, ours, or Trader Joe’s)
2 oz. coconut flour
1/2 oz. “Montina”
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum (optional because the muffins also get their “body” from the apples and pumpkin.)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups pumpkin (or other squash) puree
3/4 cup peeled and diced apple
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup oil (light olive or some other organic vegetable oil)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease the muffins tins or use paper liners.
2. Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl; whisk to blend.
3. Measure the wet ingredients into a 4 cup glass measuring cup (eggs last, so best to accurately layer the other measurements.) Whisk to blend.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, scraping down with a rubber spatula as needed.
5. Fold in the coconut and walnuts.
6. Spoon into the prepared pans, filling 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until the tops are browned and firm to the touch.
These are delicious ANY time of year, but especially fun to serve in the fall. Enjoy!
Gluten Free Gus 
Your muffins sound divine. Such a great combination of spices and comforting ingredients. You got me on Montina however…..I thought this foodie had heard of everything!
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English Uncle Howard here reporting from a US outpost in north-east Hampshire, United KIngdom. Hampshire is on England’s south coast to the less travelled. We observe Thanksgiving here each year. I made a celebration batch of Harvest Muffins. I used Doves gluten-free flour (a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize/corn and buckwheat). In place of the “Montina” I used wholegrain spelt flour. I skipped the coconut flour due to a lack. Similarly I used half chopped walnuts and half chopped pecans. Because of a recent bout of snobbery on my part, there was no ground ginger in the house. Instead I used up to one tablespoon of grated fresh ginger. These muffins were and are fantastic. Even Gus’s cousins loved them. “Guys, they’re gluten-free!” Screwed faces replied, “So. They are really good.” and “At least they don’t ‘taste gluten-free’.” Whatever…
UH, thanks for weighing in from the UK! Hopefully your notes about substitutions will inspire others to twist and turn as dictated by taste and what’s in the spice cupboard. Big hugs from the GGF crew!
Greetings to all from humid Mauritius. I am here at the African Youth Engagement Summit, full suit and tie, of course! I am working on an infrastructure project in Gambia and a Social Uplift rural broadband/internet project across South Africa. “UH” xo