Dairy free pumpkin muffins/ cupcakes with dairy free "cream cheese"icing

This is the beginning of our adventures of a dairy free, mostly soy free lifestyle.

During the week I make dinners that are following (most) of the guidelines for 4 hour body diet (4hb). Most of the baking is not 4hb cooking and would be fine for the *cheat* day.

It's fall and in Canada that means Thanksgiving in October, canned pumpkin purée is abundant so I've been making everything I can pumpkin. Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin spice latte syrup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins with creamcheese icing, and pumpkin pie - All dairy, soy and nut free and all delicious you'd never know it was.

Pumpkin muffins/bread


(this recipe works for mini muffins (24), regular muffins and even pumpkin bread (one loaf)

Set the Oven to 350 f

Wet Ingredients
1. C Pumpkin Purée
3/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Water
2 Eggs
1/2 C Canola oil
3 Tbs Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Tbs Vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 C Flour (Whole wheat works great)
1/2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
(or 1 tsp baking soda)

Mix the wet ingredients, you can then mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the wet. If you are in a rush or don't want to dirty another bowl this recipe is forgiving enough to mix everything in one bowl. Keep in mind that once you add the flour you are dealing with gluten so don't over mix just mix to combine the ingredients. Once the baking soda is added it needs to be baked promptly, as the baking soda is the leavener and will start reacting as soon as it becomes wet.

Fill the muffin tins. I filled the tins almost full and got very cute tops on my mini muffins. I used a non stick pan and did not use liners they popped out after I slid a toothpick around the outside.

Bake in a 350 oven for 10 mins for mini's, or 40 mins for a loaf. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

These keep in the freezer quite well. I sliced the loaf froze it between sheets of parchment paper and popped it into the toaster to thaw. It comes out like it was just baked.

Dairy free cream cheese icing

1/4 C Vegan Margerine (I like vegan bacel, I used half margerine and half coconut oil)
1 C icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Soften the margerine, slowly add about 1/4 c the powdered sugar and mix till lump free, add the vanilla and lemon then continue to add the powdered sugar 1/4 c at a time until all the powdered sugar is added.
This has the same tang as creamcheese icing, it is slightly softer, if you used half coconut oil if you put it in the fridge it will be quite hard.