Don’t you love a good muffin in the morning? Especially with a cup of coffee? Or in the car driving kids to school, like I do almost every morning. But I’m always so thankful I made these pumpkin muffins without the extra sugar when I’m making the mad rush out the door and my stomach is growling at me. (Yes, it growls AT me.)
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I really enjoy finding sugar substitutes in my baking. I am unwilling to give up baked goods entirely, even when I realized how insane my kids get when they have sugar. So I started researching and made almost a complete switch in all our sweet baked goods to alternative sugars. I prefer the natural ones (as opposed to processed sugar substitutes like Equal). Coconut sugar, honey and maple syrup are my three go-to substitutes. And let me tell you, after reducing our refined sugar I no longer prefer overly sweet desserts. My kids are just as insane, but I feel better knowing they’re getting less of the gunky stuff.
If you’d like to try making your baked goods gluten free, use Cup 4 Cup. It tastes the most similar to regular ol’ gluten full flour. And Amazon (link above) has a really good price. I keep this on hand all the time for myself and for my gluten free family and friends.
Alternative Sugars Explained (a little)
Coconut Sugar has a low glycemic index, and is not processed like white sugar. Your body absorbs it similar to fruit sugars. No sugar spike and crash, which I love! It’s my go-to for baking, since it can be replaced 1:1 for white sugar or brown sugar. So you get a very close consistency end product with just as much sweetness, but no refined sugar. My favorite is this one found at Target. I like it because it has the best price and convenience.
Honey and Maple Syrup can be a little harder to substitute in recipes, but it can be done with a little experimenting. I like to match the flavor to what I’m baking, too. Pumpkin muffins and maple syrup just go together. Just like my banana muffins and honey go well together. In some recipes, I combine one of these natural sweeteners with others, like applesauce or bananas. Give it a try! You’ll find you don’t even miss the refined sugar anymore!
Loving these Pumpkin Muffins? Try these other recipes with no refined sugar!
Everyday Pumpkin Muffins – No Refined Sugar
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin not pumpkin pie
- 1/3 C maple syrup
- 1/3 C coconut oil melted to liquid state
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg room temp
- 3/4 C coconut sugar
- 2 C all purpose flour or Cup for Cup
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 C flour
- 1/3 C coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 5 Tbsp butter cold
- 1/2 C chopped pecans optional
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice substitute with:
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°. Spray 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick spray, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and egg. Once fully combined, mix in coconut sugar.
- In a separate bowl, fully mix dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix just until combined, do not over mix.
- To make the streusel, combine dry ingredients, then add butter in small pads. Using your fingers mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal. Add pecans, if using.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins until about 3/4 full. It should use the entire recipe to make 12.
- Evenly spoon streusel on top of muffins.
- Place on center rack of oven. Bake at 425° for 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375° and bake for another 15-20 minutes until muffins are fully baked and tops spring back when touched.
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