Easy, gluten-free Pumpkin Cupcakes make the best Halloween party or Fall dessert!
Do you like making decorative Halloween desserts?
I do NOT.
Wait, whaaat? I’d consider myself pretty creative, and I love to bake and craft, so you would probably assume that I also like to decorate my cakes, cupcakes, etc. and make them absolutely beautiful.
But… nope. Sure don’t! I think simple is always best. A dessert should taste better than it looks, not the other way around.
So, if you’re looking for an easy, no-fuss Halloween party dessert for kids, Fall birthday party dessert, or just flat out delicious cupcakes.. look no further. These easy, moist, gluten-free Pumpkin Cupcakes have arrived! 😉
Let’s make some gluten-free Pumpkin Cupcakes from scratch, shall we?
To begin, you’ll need to make “buttermilk.” You can use whatever milk you prefer (I recommend almond milk for a dairy-free option). Add your milk and vinegar to a small bowl, and set them aside so your milk curdles.
Next, prepare your muffin tin! You’ll need to line two muffin pans with 15 cupcake liners, since this recipe makes 15 cupcakes.
Choose whatever cute cupcake liners your heart desires.
For Fall or Thanksgiving pick something orange or with leaves or plaid. For Halloween there’s some fun Halloween cupcake liners out there too so keep your eyes peeled! Hobby Lobby has some great ones, if you need an excuse to go there too 😉
Back to business: Next, add your dry ingredients together. Separately add your wet ingredients together (don’t forget that “buttermilk” too!) and whisk them till combined.
To keep this cupcake recipe dairy-free be sure to use coconut oil instead of butter!
Now mix your wet and dry ingredients together and you have your cupcake batter. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 way full, and bake in the oven for 17-19 minutes.
Let your cupcakes cool entirely before your try and frost them, or you’ll have frosting melting and sliding off your cupcakes!
You can use whatever frosting you would like to frost these with. I recommend Cream Cheese Frosting (I use and like this recipe) but you can also use your favorite store bought frosting, regular or dairy-free.
Easy enough right? 🙂
These cupcakes are incredibly moist, a little healthy with the added pumpkin puree, filled with pumpkin pie spices, and I think they taste best topped with cream cheese frosting!
And don’t forget, if you wanna be a little extra fancy, use your favorite sprinkles on top too! My favorite Halloween sprinkles have little eyeballs in them 🙂
More delicious Fall dessert ideas: gluten-free Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, Skinny Mini Maple Pecan Cheesecakes and Oatmeal Scotchies.
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 1/2 tsp vinegar
- 1 1/3 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
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To begin, add your milk and vinegar to a small bowl and stir them together. Set them aside so the milk will curdle making "buttermilk."
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Now, preheat your oven to 350 and line two muffin pans with cupcake liners (for 15 cupcakes).
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In a small mixing bowl, add your gluten-free flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt and stir them together.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your coconut oil and sugar and whisk them together. Then add your pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla and whisk them together lightly. Finally, add your "buttermilk" and mix together till all is well combined.
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Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and stir them together to make your cupcake batter.
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Fill each liner about 3/4 way full with cupcake batter. Bake in the oven for 17-19 minutes, or till the tops of the cupcakes are springy to touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Let cool then top with your favorite frosting.
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Devour!
Eat within two days. Or, store your cupcakes in the fridge and add the frosting on later and they will last a few days longer.
Can you freeze these?
Hi there. Yes, you should be able to freeze the cupcakes (unfrosted) and then let them defrost in the fridge.
Hi, I plan to try this recipe today! Can I use regular flour instead of gluten free?
Yes, that should work just fine, Kristen. I hope you enjoy them!
Can I use almond flour in place of the gluten free flour?
Hi Jennifer. No, I would not recommend using almond flour for these cupcakes.
Hey! I’m going to make these today… can I substitute the coconut oil for butter? If so, can I just use the same amount? Thanks! 😊
Yes, definitely! Exact same amount. I hope you love them!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Any chance you have a recipe for a dairy-free cream cheese frosting? Because without that, these aren’t completely dairy-free! And who doesn’t love cream cheese with pumpkin?
Hi Wendy. I don’t – but, you can either use vegan cream cheese or make your own vegan cream cheese to make any cream cheese frosting (with dairy-free butter). You could also make vanilla buttercream frosting with a butter substitute (I like Country Crock Plant Butter) OR you could make them with my Snickerdoodle buttercream frosting (again, with a dairy-free butter substitute) http://www.milehighmitts.com/snickerdoodle-cupcakes-gluten-free-high-altitude-option/ which I think would be delicious. Last, you could use store bought dairy-free frosting. So you have a few options! Hopefully this helps.