Ingredients
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1 bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunksor any vegan or allergy friendly chocolate pieces
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2 cups almond flour
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3/4 cup coconut sugar
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1 t baking soda
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1 t vanilla extract
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3 eggs
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1 can pumpkin puree
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1 T avocado oil
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2T raw pumpkin seeds
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1/2 cup smashed walnutssub pecans or almonds
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2 T pumpkin pie spice
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.5 t all spiceoptional but adds a cool flavor
Directions
Oh maaaaaaaa gaaaawd! There’s something magical about chocolate chunk versus the average chocolate chips in these muffins. Either will work here nicely but the chunks make it so ooey gooey and moist that they stay together – but barely! Yah know what that means, don’t yah? It means YOU HAVE TO eat this warm luscious muffin as quickly as you can shove it into your face AND (here’s the kicker) it’s gluten free, paleo, dairy free, with a vegan option. And if you think there is no way that this muffin can taste like anything other than a shoebox because of all those false rumors about paleo and vegan desserts, then you have been hanging around with the wrong crowd my friend. 😊
I never had much of a sweet tooth and IM FAR FROM a baker but my kid and hubby enjoy the occasional treat. I’m a savory home chef %110 all the way. But the great paleo, gluten free, and vegan bakers out there have really taught me a lot about which ingredients sub for what and how much it can make a difference in your family’s life to get away from all the processed baking crapola! Thank you!
Ok, so let’s get to it.
Need a Vegan Option? I got you!
Sub flax eggs for the real eggs listed. The Enjoy Life brand is indeed a dairy free vegan chip/chunk and they are the only brand I use. But feel free to sub your favorite vegan chocolate.
Click on the image below to purchase my favorite chunks/chips. The dark chocolate morsels are the ones I use the most!
Coconut Sugar
You can use regular or brown coconut sugar. I used brown coconut sugar and the results were that rich dark brown you see in the images. Monk fruit sweetener is a 1:1 substitute but I have not made this recipe with it yet. If you sub a different sweetener, please comment and let me know how it turned out.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend
Use any blend you’d like just make sure it doesn’t have any sugar or fillers. It should just list the spices on the back. If you don’t like this spice blend, you can sub cinnamon and cardamom.
Don’t like pumpkin puree?
You can sub the can of pumpkin for an equal amount of apple sauce or mashed bananas. Both will ensure the muffins are super moist.
One last IMPORTANT tip!
If you use cupcake liners, please buy good ones. I made the mistake of buying cheap ones and the muffins stuck like you wouldn’t believe. Get a name brand on this one, trust me.
Need another sweet treat to help with those cravings in a less guilt kinda way? Check out SOLTO’s FixxStixs Chocolate ‘Caramel’ Bars!
Lastly, I hope you enjoy these as much as my crew did. Leave me a comment if you have any questions or to tell me what you think.
Over and out…for now…
Do you social?
Me too! Make this, take a photo, and on da GRAM – #SOLTOcrew AND don’t forget to @sanityorlackthereof | Find more from SOLTO on Pinterest and join my crazy wack cookery community on Facebook.
Glad you came to party!
Steps
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1
Done
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Preheat your oven to 375°F and either line your muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray the heck out of it with non-stick spray. |
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2
Done
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Get out your mixing bowl, measuring stuff, and your hand mixer. Now, get all of your ingredients out. This is called mise en place which means get prepared and having everything out and in place so you are ready to go. This makes you more efficient and less frazzled when it comes to baking or cooking. |
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3
Done
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Place the nuts in a sandwich bag and use the bottom of a glass or a meat mallet to softly break them up. You still want chunks of nuts - not powder. |
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4
Done
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In a large bowl, add everything except for the chocolate, the crushed nuts, and the pumpkin seeds. Using your hand mixer, blend the ingredients until incorporated. About 45 seconds on medium speed. Then, fold in the *3/4 of the bag of chocolate chunks* or chips and the nuts. You will use the rest of the chocolate and the seeds to decorate prior to baking. |
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5
Done
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Pour enough of the mixture in each hole until its a little under the top of each cup. For me, it was just under 2 Ts. Add a sprinkle of seeds and drop some chunks. This is up to you. I wanted about 4 chunks and lots of seeds because I'm obsessed with pumpkin seeds. Then place them in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. |
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6
Done
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Wait patiently while your home fills up with the smell of the fall or better yet, cuddle up with a nice glass of wine to celebrate what you have going on in that oven over there. (Brush dirt off shoulders here) |
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7
Done
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When timer goes off, pull the tin out of the oven preferably with a glove and use a toothpick to test the muffin. If just chocolate comes out on the toothpick, you probably went in on one of those chunks so you are good to go. If batter comes out too, place them back in the oven for 5 more minutes and repeat the test. Oven times vary depending on the intensity of your oven heat. |
