HAPPY FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN!

Here are some of the lovely, more general things I think of come fall: Pumpkins, warming spices, crisp air, blankets, the world changing into a blaze of fiery colors, soft sweaters, apple orchards, soup with bread, that feeling of cold on your face and the warmth that fills you when you walk into a home with the promise in the air of something soul nourishing to eat. Like these Pumpkin Spice Chai Muffins.

Personally, autumn always brings me back in some way to my first fall in Minnesota 10 years ago. To be honest, in many ways I thought I had stepped into a fairy tale land. I could not get over the “Christmas” (pine) trees everywhere and the fact that it wasn’t even October and I could step outside and not be drenched in sweat within two minutes. The colors of the leaves started to change and my heart was won over. I was always running around campus making piles of leaves to jump in or gathering fallen acorns and pine cones like I was stockpiling for the winter (that I knew nothing about yet. That’s for a different post.) The first fall also met me with intense homesickness. Words of the wise for you freshmen: don’t sit by your dorm room window and listen to “Home” by Michael Buble while you watch orange leaves dance from the tree outside. Unless you like tears. Which in that case, if you have a good roommate, they will bring you a pumpkin muffin immediately. Or a whole dozen. In a mix of chocolate chip and streusel topping. They’ll bring you these!

I have been tinkering with these for a while now and I finally got what I wanted. Something suitable for breakfast and not too sweet. Tender crumb. Gluten free but using oats ground into a flour instead of gf flour. Warmly and richly spiced with my favorite spices (chai spices anyone?!). Easy to make and even better the next day (blender for mixing anyone?!). Also, I wanted to use the entire can of pumpkin puree. Anyone else tired of trying to use up 1/8 of a cup of pumpkin left?

Pumpkin Chai Spice Muffins

These fit the bill. And my kids gobble them up and ask for another immediately. They prefer the chocolate, I prefer the streusel topping with nothing mixed in. You do you! Go crazy and do both or add in some pecans perhaps? Switch up the spices? If you don’t like chai then just add another tablespoon pumpkin pie spice. Just, enjoy and soak up the season for whatever it means for you.

Pumpkin Spice Chai Muffins (flourless, dairy free)

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Author: Come Sit At The Table
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Yield: 12 1x
Category: Breakfast
Cuisine: American

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Description

Pumpkin Spice Chai muffins! Warmly spiced, gluten free oat flour muffins. This recipe uses a blender and is so simple to make!

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (add 1 cup more if doing a streusel topping)
3 teaspoons of chai spice. I use contents of 1 tea bag of my favorite chai tea. (OR 1 more tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 can pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons of honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sunflower oil or butter, melted
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Streusel (optional)

1 cup oat flour/ chai spice mix from above
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon white sugar
Pinch of sea salt
6 tablespoons freezer chilled butter, cut into 1/2 in cubes (chill in the freezer for about 15 minutes before making topping)
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter/spray no stick muffin pan.
In a high powered blender add 2 cups of old fashioned oats (3 cups if you’re doing the streusel topping) and chai and pumpkin pie spice and pulse for 30 seconds or until oats are ground into a fine flour. Reserve 1 cup of this mix for the topping if using. Measure out two cups of oat flour for the muffins.
If making the streusel topping, make it now and set aside in fridge.See below for streusel directions.
In a large bowl mix together the two cups of oat flour with the rest of the dry ingredients.
To the blender add the pumpkin puree, honey, eggs, orange juice and butter and pulse till blended.
Gently stir the wet into the dry ingredients and mix in chocolate chips if you want and/or top with topping if you want!
Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned on top and knife comes clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and enjoying! Keeps well covered for 3 days.

Streusel topping

Stir together the sugars, flour, salt and cinnamon. With fingers or a fork cut in the butter until the mixture looks crumbly and the butter is about the size of peas.