Popping in to add something to the pantry staple arsenal. Malk? Mylk? I can't. It's just milk made from nuts and seeds and has made no sense to my parents how one "milks" a nut so I hope I can clear some things up for them, if perhaps visually, here. See the nipples on that cashew, Dad? ;)
It's been chilly lately, so my coffee and tea consumption has been a pretty steady stream through the day until happy hour. I typically use an unsweetened coconut milk creamer from the market but have more recently fallen in love with homemade cashew milk in there instead (after the coffee has cooled down quite a bit, the milk just separates and falls to the bottom of a super hot cup). We also have a family wide adoration of peanut butter Puffins cereal that floats beautifully in the almond milk. I am including a few recipes for nut and seed milk (for those with nut allergies) below. You do need a nut milk bag or small sieve (cheesecloth optional) to strain the almond milk. I tend towards the cashew milk because the fibers all blend into the milk enough that you can just include them in the finished product, leaving you with something that resembles whole milk versus skim. If you prefer it the viscosity of store-bought, strain it. I make muffins with the leftover pulp (reference this pumpkin muffin recipe, swap in overripe bananas for the pumpkin and use a dry sweetener instead of the maple to compensate for the wet pulp). The suggested soaking step helps break down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, making the nuts easier to digest. Overnight is easiest for me, it's all hands off time, then I can blend them in the morning, but at least 4 hours would likely do the trick. More notes on why to soak them on My New Roots.
Are you thinking "Sara, I can buy this?" I know, I think that too, and usually do, so I won't sell this too hard. I will say this turns out much creamier and has a fresher, stronger nut flavor and you can personalize the sweetness or lack thereof and it is more cost effective and less wasteful. It's like anything homemade, I buy store-bought marinara sauce and cookies and such all the time, but making something from scratch has the extra magic you can't buy. Perhaps that is just from being close to the process.
NUT + SEED MILKS I use about 3 1/2-4 cups water and find that to be my optimum nut and seed milk viscosity - a little thicker than store bought stuff. You can play with that 1/2 cup either direction for something on the thicker or thinner side. Two dates in 4+ cups of nut milk is just barely sweet. Using maple to taste instead will be a bit more of an obvious sweet flavor.
// almond milk //
1 cup almonds, soaked overnight 2 dates, pitted pinch of sea salt 4 cups filtered water 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or seeds from half a vanilla bean
Soak the almonds and dates overnight. Drain off extra water from the top. Put all the nuts and dates in a high speed blender with 4 cups fresh water, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Blend on high for 2 whole minutes. Strain through a nut milk bag for a smoother milk, this is optional. Store in the fridge, covered, for a week.
// cashew milk //
1 cup cashews, soaked overnight 2 dates, pitted 4 cups filtered water pinch of sea salt 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract or seeds from half a vanilla bean
Soak the cashews and date overnight. Drain off extra water from the top. Put all the nuts and dates in a high speed blender with 4 cups fresh water, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Blend on high for 2 whole minutes. Strain through a nut milk bag for a smoother milk, this is optional. I leave the fibers in. Store in the fridge, covered, for a week.
// pumpkin + hemp seed milk //
1/2 cup hemp seeds 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds 1-2 dates, pitted 3 cups water pinch of sea salt 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Soak the nuts/seeds and date overnight. Drain off extra water from the top. Put all the seeds and dates in a high speed blender with 4 cups fresh water, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Blend on high for 2 whole minutes. Strain through a nut milk bag for a smoother milk, this is optional. Store in the fridge, covered, for a week.
Months ago, I may have mentioned that Hugh was doing the ketogenic diet? Surely you've heard of it. Most of the cookbooks at my local Costco are keto books so you know it's mainstream. He humored me and went off it for the holidays and is back to it these days. I refuse to make a third version of whatever I'm cooking, but I will compromise. How saintly of me, right? I have my current granola recipe pretty nailed down, but I gave it a spin with less sweetener and replaced the oats with more nuts. It replaces the carbohydrates with more fat, so I don't know where your nutrition paradigms lie, but it tastes good either way. You can use this as a topping for plain yogurt, oatmeal, as a snack or I used it as a crunchy bit for a green salad with arugula, red onion, and roasted butternut chunks and thought it worked perfect. I made a few notes below on seasoning options.
NUT'NOLA // Makes about 5 cups
You can find the coconut flakes (the wide shards, not the same as shredded coconut) at Trader Joes, larger conventional grocery stores or Amazon. The kind of nut isn't as important as the yield. Swap in pecans or macadamia nuts, whatever you prefer. We use this as a breakfast sort of deal, if you want a more savory route, a dash of cayenne and some fresh chopped rosemary is a great swap, or that Everything But The Bagel seasoning from Trader Joes is pretty amazing here too, especially if you want to use these as a crunchy salad topper.
2 Tbsp. coconut oil, warmed 1/3 cup maple syrup 3/4 tsp. sea salt heaping 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 cup raw whole almonds 1 cup raw whole cashews 1/2 cup raw walnuts 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds 1 Tbsp. raw sesame seeds 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes/chips
Preheat the oven to 325' F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the warmed coconut oil, maple, salt and cinnamon/spice. Stir to combine. Give the almonds, cashews and walnuts a rough chop. Add them to the maple mixture along with the pumpkin seeds, sesame and coconut flakes. Stir everything to coat. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the baking sheet and pop in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, stir, bake another 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to cool completely. The nuts will crisp up as they cool. Store in an airtight container for a couple weeks.
I was chatting with a reader a few weeks ago about making swaps in one of the older pumpkin recipes on this site and I realized we have a shortage in that category. I love pumpkin things, but am a little too cynical towards how overdone it can be this time of year. I've been baking with more almond meal lately, in the name of lower carbohydrate treats, and while it doesn't yield something nearly as light and fluffy as a "regular" baked good, I like how tender and rich things turn out. Hugh actually makes this rosemary bread better than I do now and we're ordering the stuff in 4 lb. increments so it won't stop here. We may be a little short on holiday sides in the index too now that I think of it so I'll work on a few of those. Anyway, it's food season! I'm here for you. Until then, I don't like hard selling you on the recipes here BUT if you need a super easy, one bowl, dairy free, gluten free, maple sweetened pumpkin muffin? These are them.
ALMOND MEAL PUMPKIN MUFFINS // Makes 12 (gf, df, veg) My kids love these. The chocolate is optional for them I suppose, but for us big kids, it is not. You could replace nuts in equal measure if you prefer. Most any muffin recipe that yields 12 can be made into a standard 9x5 loaf with more time in the oven. I actually haven't tried it yet, but I think if you went for 40 minutes, you'd be in good shape. Also note that different brands of canned pumpkin puree vs. homemade have different water content and will affect the outcome slightly. I find homemade to vary, and Libbys (what is at most conventional grocers) to be thicker than the Trader Joes stuff. So if you're using the TJ's brand, scale back to 3/4 cup. Side note, I LOVE this muffin tin. Muffins and mini frittatas release no problem which is more than I can say for any other brand I've tried. * Adding a note here. If coconut flour is not something you stock (and no, I don't find it tastes like coconut, and is not a very easy to use flour), King Arthur or Bobs Red Mill gluten free 1:1 flour or unbleached all purpose can be swapped in at 1/3 cup in its place. Same for the brown rice flour, I buy it online, but don’t go out of your way. Replace it with the GF all-purpose sub.
1 cup pumpkin puree 3 eggs 1/3 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1/3 cup olive oil or coconut oil, warmed 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour 1 cup almond flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 cup chocolate chips or a 3.5oz. dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped
raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds, for garnish, optional
Preheat the oven to 360' and grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or use liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple, oil, pumpkin pie spice and salt and whisk really well to combine. You want to get some air up in there. Add the coconut flour and mix. Let that sit a minute to absorb some moisture. Add the rice flour, almond meal, baking powder and soda and stir again to mix. Add the chocolate chips, one last stir.
Distribute the batter between your cups. Sprinkle the pepitas on top. Bake on the middle rack for 20ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool before removing them from the pan and enjoy.
Updated edit! These were originally published with 1/2 cup maple, but I reduced the maple and made up for some sweetness with brown sugar, to get a drier muffin. Either will work! but we prefer the texture with a partial dry sweetener.
Sara Forte
2019-02-12
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
12
Gluten free pumpkin muffins made with almond meal and coconut flour.
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup olive oil or coconut oil, warmed
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
raw pepitas/pumpkin seeds, for garnish, optional
249 calories17 grams fat21 grams carbohydrate6 grams protein
Preheat the oven to 360' and grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or use liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple, oil, pumpkin pie spice and salt and whisk really well to combine. You want to get some air up in there. Add the coconut flour and mix. Let that sit a minute to absorb some moisture. Add the almond meal, baking soda and stir again to mix. Add the chocolate chips, one last stir.
Distribute the batter between your cups. Sprinkle the pepitas on top. Bake on the middle rack for 20ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool before removing them from the pan and enjoy.
