Gluten-Free 'We Got The Beet' Cupcakes

I love beets! I've always liked them, even as a kid. One of my favorite ways to eat beets is roasted with other vegetables, I also adore pickled eggs and beets. We almost always have picked eggs and beets at family get togethers, when I was a kid my cousins and sister used to tease me that I must be some sort of alien for liking purple eggs and beets so much (I didn't care - I had an egg and beets to focus on eating and keeping the juice from turning my other food purple).

I wish the cupcakes were this color - so vibrant!

Another of my favorite ways to eat beets - in red velvet beet cupcakes! This recipe is so easy to make - the hardest part is cooking and peeling the beets before pureeing them. That's really the only reason I don't make these cupcakes very often. Then I found a shortcut - Love Beets freshly cooked beets! These beets have been cooked and then vacuum packed so they stay fresh. This allows me to skip an entire step in the red velvet beet cupcake making process - I just pop the beets in my Magic Bullet, whir and 'ta-da' beet puree without the mess or wait!

'We Got The Beet' Cupcakes (Gluten-Free)
Makes 12 cupcakes 

Ingredients: 
¾ cup sugar 
¼ cup quinoa flour 
¼ cup sweet sorghum flour 
¼ cup coconut flour 
½ cup cocoa 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
½ teaspoon baking soda 
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt  
½ cup canola oil 
1 tablespoon vanilla Greek yogurt 
1 cup beet puree
½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar 
¼ cup milk 
2 eggs 

For frosting (optional):
½ cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Mix together the sugar, quinoa flour, sweet sorghum flour, coconut flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Set bowl aside when fully combined. In a separate bowl, combine the canola oil, yogurt, beet puree, vinegar, milk and eggs. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the center cupcake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

When cool, frost cupcakes with a simple cream cheese frosting (To make frosting, cream butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes on medium speed.  Add vanilla and sugar, blend.) or dust with a fine layer of powdered sugar.

Adapted from: Can't Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes from Coconut & Lime.