Maple, Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Muffins

Tis' the season for pumpkin flavored food and beverages, and this year, I'm jumping on the band-wagon and spicing up (literally) my Baked Oatmeal Muffin recipe. In the spirit of the season, I present to you "Better-Than-a-Muffin Muffins Maple Pumpkin Muffins," a.k.a Maple Pumpkin "Muffins" :)Why is "muffins" in quotations? Because I struggle to call these guys muffins. They're more like pumpkin-pie-meets-a-muffin-meets-a-pancake...in the shape of a muffin. Crazy, I know, but until I create an entirely new name for them, they're "muffins."These maple pumpkin muffins are gluten-free and refined sugar-free, which makes them a nice change from the Halloween candy and real pumpkin pie that you've been over-indulging in. But the BEST part about these muffins, is that they are ridiculously easy to make! All you have to do is throw the ingredients in a blender, which takes all 5 minutes, pour the batter into silicone muffin trays, and bake! Easy-peasy-no-excuses-baking.Hope you all enjoy these fall inspired "muffins" as much as my toddler does! Look for "Better-Than-a-Muffin Merry Christmas Muffins" next month! (Just kidding)*Just a reminder: It's important to use quality, pure, maple syrup--your syrup should never rhyme with "shmant shmimimas."

Maple, Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Muffins

Author: Carly

Fall-inspired, gluten-free, Maple Pumpkin "Muffins"

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup Pumpkin Puree (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup Rolled Oats, organic
• 1/2 cup Shredded Coconut (OR leftover coconut or almond pulp from making coconut or [url href="http://modernhippiehw.com/wp/2014/01/07/how-to-make-almond-milk-flour/" title="How to Make Almond Milk (& Flour)"]almond milk[/url])
• 1/3 cup Maple Syrup, plus a little extra to drizzle on top (the REAL stuff!)
• 2 Eggs, free-run
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground Cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Allspice
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 cup raw Pumpkin Seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Put all the ingredients, except pumpkin seeds, in a blender, and blend for about 30 seconds, or until the batter is smooth.
3. Pour the batter into silicone muffins trays (I make 6 regular sized, and 12 mini's)
4. Top with a few pumpkin seeds and drizzle with maple syrup (optional)
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
6. Let rest for about 20-30 minutes to give the muffins a chance to set--this is the most IMPORTANT part. They will appear raw if you try to eat them too soon, but they are not!!!

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