Pumpkin Poppers Gluten Free Grain Free

by Starlene on Friday, November 9th, 2012

Something about the weather cooling down brings out the pumpkin lover in me. In my twenties when my children were very little, we always roasted a big Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin, usually after we’d carved it earlier in the day. However, when I started gardening seriously in my 30s I learned that the big pumpkins are apparently not actually meant for human consumption, and to make the best pumpkin pie you should use the special (expensive) little pie pumpkins. Purportedly the big pumpkins are less sweet and can have a grainy texture, and are mostly fed to livestock.
I was shopping at one of the local discount food stores and they had a large supply of Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins for $1.99, and they were all larger than a basketball. We had been invited to a potluck and I called to ask the hostess if she would like me to buy a couple for her to use as decorations. And then I bought two for myself.
We never did carve the pumpkins, and I got to thinking that less sweetness is probably a good thing for those of us on GAPS. And winter squash has been so expensive so far this year. I decided that I was going to try roasting one of the big pumpkins and I was happy with the result. I did find that the pumpkin texture had a slight bit of crunch, but that was not enough of a deterrent to finding ways to use them.
I was browsing around the Internet and I found these cute little pumpkin bites* which were of course made with regular white flour, sugar and other non-GAPS allowed ingredients, so I decided to test my conversion skills.
I brought these to work with me on Halloween to share with my coworkers and my boss liked them so much that she requested that I bring them to our Christmas potluck.
These remind me of cake doughnut holes… they are moist and delicious with a hot cup of tea or GAPS Friendly Hot Chocolate. They also freeze perfectly well so you can make ahead of time – just remember to thaw to room temperature which will take about two hours. You will find a printable version of this recipe at the bottom of the post.
Oh, and one more thing: These are dairy-free, but of course butter is legal on GAPS. If you do not have to avoid butter, you may want to substitute the cinnamon topping mixture with butter instead of coconut oil. It is quite delicious.
Yields: 18
Pumpkin Poppers

1/2 cup coconut flour, firmly packed (I used Tropical Traditions brand)**
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
3 eggs
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin and 1/2 cup carrots (you may use all pumpkin or winter squash – I used 1/2 carrots for more orange color since my pumpkin was not orange enough for my liking)
1/3 cup coconut oil (I used Tropical Traditions Gold Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil)
1/4 cup honey (I used Tropical Traditions certified organic, raw honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Be sure to get an exact 1/2 cup of coconut flour by using the back of a straight edged knife to level off the flour even with the top edge of the measuring cup. Measure all dry ingredients (coconut flour down to ginger) in a large mixing bowl. If you freeze your coconut flour (like I do with mine to keep it moist and fresh), you may sift after measuring to make sure there are no little hard clumps.
Mix together.

Place 3 eggs into your Magic Bullet, blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of cooked carrots and 1/2 cup pumpkin. Feel free to use any kind of winter squash or any combination of pumpkin, winter squash or carrots.
Blend until completely smooth.
Place melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla into a small bowl. Add the winter squash and eggs mixture into the bowl and whisk.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Using a hand mixer, blend for 1-2 minutes until completely mixed. As the coconut flour absorbs the liquids the mixture will go from a very runny consistency to a thicker consistency.

Allow the batter to sit for 5 minutes so that the coconut flour can absorb the liquids.
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Use coconut oil to grease a mini muffin tin.
Lightly sprinkle coconut flour into the bottom of each muffin cup.
Measure out two tablespoons of batter for each popper. It would be awesome to have one of these: [easyazon-link asin="B000SSVRYM" locale="us"]Norpro 703 Grip-EZ 2-Tablespoon Stainless Scoop[/easyazon-link].
The batter should be of the consistency where you can pick it up in your hands and form into a little ball. If you have to use a tablespoon measurement like me, be sure that you completely meld the two parts together, otherwise when they bake you will end up with little splits and fissures where you placed them together. If by chance your batter is not thick enough, add in coconut flour by the teaspoon waiting a minute or two in between adding more. If your batter is too thick, you could try adding more pumpkin.
Drop into the muffin tins. I don’t advise using cupcake papers for this recipe – in the last step you will drizzle a liquid cinnamon topping which will make a sticky mess of the papers so it is best to just put them bare naked into the muffin tin.

Bake for 20 minutes.
For the topping mix 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil with 1 tablespoon honey and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
When the poppers are done, as soon as you remove them from the oven using a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of the topping mixture on each popper.
The topping will melt into the popper and will also spill down and soak into the bottom.
Carefully remove each popper, they should not stick because of the coconut flour placed under each one but I had a couple that were still a little stubborn and didn’t want to come loose.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions!
This post has been shared at Fat Tuesdays and at GAPS Friendly Fridays #18. This post was featured at Real Food Forager Sunday Snippets.

If you’re looking for more pumpkin recipes, here are some others from my blog:

Pumpkin Bread Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Sugar-Free and Dairy-Free

Pumpkin Coconut Milk Custard

Pumpkin Coconut Smoothie

Happy eating!

*This recipe was adapted from: Craving Chronicles Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes which was adapted from: Tasty Kitchen Pumpkin Spice Donut Muffins.

**If you order from Tropical Traditions by clicking on any of my Tropical Traditions links and are a brand new customer, you will receive this free book: Virgin Coconut Oil : How it Has Changed People’s Lives, and How it Can Change Yours, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you. Thank you!

Pumpkin Poppers made with Coconut Flour

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: Gluten-free, Grain-free, Dairy-free

Author: Starlene Stewart from GAPS Diet Journey

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 18

These little pumpkin bites are moist and delicious with a hint of cinnamon.

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour, firmly packed (I used Tropical Traditions)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, divided use
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin and 1/2 cup carrots
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted + 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, divided use
1/4 cup raw honey + 1 Tablespoon honey, divided use
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Be sure to get an exact 1/2 cup of coconut flour by using the back of a straight edged knife to level off the flour even with the top edge of the measuring cup. Measure all dry ingredients (coconut flour down to ginger) in a large mixing bowl. If you freeze your coconut flour (like I do with mine to keep it moist and fresh), you may sift after measuring to make sure there are no little hard clumps.
Mix together.
Place 3 eggs into your Magic Bullet, blender or food processor with the 1 cup of winter squash.
Blend until completely smooth.
Place melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla into a small bowl. Add the winter squash and eggs mixture into the bowl and whisk.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
Using a hand mixer, blend for 1-2 minutes until completely mixed. As the coconut flour absorbs the liquids the mixture will go from a very runny consistency to a thicker consistency.
Allow the batter to sit for 5 minutes so that the coconut flour can absorb the liquids.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Use coconut oil to grease a mini muffin tin.
Lightly sprinkle coconut flour into the bottom of each muffin cup.
Measure out two tablespoons of batter for each popper.
The batter should be of the consistency where you can pick it up in your hands and form into a little ball.
Drop into the muffin tins. I don’t advise using cupcake papers for this recipe.
Bake for 20 minutes.
For the topping mix 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil with 1 tablespoon honey and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
When the poppers are done, as soon as you remove them from the oven using a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of the topping mixture on each popper. The topping will melt into the popper and will also spill down and soak into the bottom.

Notes

You may use all pumpkin or winter squash – I used 1/2 carrots for more orange color since my pumpkin was not orange enough for my liking. These freeze well and are just as delicious once brought to room temperature (about 2 hours).