Delicious, Gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes or Muffins

Yesterday my kids had a Fall party for a class they are taking, so I whipped up some Gluten-free and Egg-free Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for them when they got home. I freeze half of the batch to have them ready for another time. If I don’t put frosting on them, then we consider them muffins, and they like to eat them with butter or apple butter, for breakfast or as a bedtime snack. If we are going to be traveling, I like to freeze a whole batch and store them in a Rubbermaid container for the kids to eat for breakfast when we stop at hotels. It’s hard to find a healthy egg-free or Gluten-free breakfast, other than cereal while on the road. If they want cupcakes, I use the same recipe and usually use Wilton’s Cream Cheese Frosting recipe to top them and make them into “cupcakes”. This Pumpkin cupcake recipe is gluten-free, egg-free and also dairy-free. If you need dairy-free frosting as well, you can just use your favorite frosting recipe for them, or use Wilton’s regular vanilla frosting recipe with your nut or coconut milk substitutions.

These are super easy to make by starting with a box of GF Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix, and since I add Pumpkin to the recipe, I feel like they are mostly healthy. We replace the ingredients on the box, with 1- 15 oz can of Libby’s Pumpkin, and I add 1/4 cup of liquid coconut oil, and 1/4 cup of water. Next, I add the spices and stir to combine. See below for the full recipe. Because pumpkin works as a binder, I don’t have to add an egg to this recipe. They won’t rise as much as if they had egg, but they are still equally delicious and really moist. My kids love these and use them as a treat when there are school or church functions that have snacks they are allergic to. I like to make an allergy-free version of whatever the other kids are having, so my kids don’t feel different or left out because of their allergies. I have had people who aren’t gluten-free eat them, and they love them as well.