Spiced Pinto Bean, Oat, and Apple Muffins

Forging ahead with my bean baking... remember those chocolate bean brownies I made? I made these delicious morsels... Spiced pinto bean, oat, and apple muffins. They are quite tasty and you would not know that they are mostly made of beans. The texture is delicate and fluffy. Surprisingly, there is no flour in these muffins.  

The recipe came from this cookbook, Bean Cuisine by Genevieve Taylor. This is a great book. It is lovely to have a cookbook that offers alternative, for a lack of better terms, meal options. Not that one could not figure out a few substitutions on ones own however the recipes are easy. The photography mouthwatering. At 143 pages this puts beans first on the dinner, lunch and dessert tables. 

The introduction deals with the benefits of beans, varieties of beans, type of beans for cooking, cooking dried beans and bean storage. The 5 chapters offer Easy everyday beans, Bean feasts, Beans to go, Snacks and dips and Sweet beans (desserts). I want to try the Cappuccino navy bean cheesecake, Coconut rice and peas, Spicy roasted chickpea "chips", Jamaican red bean, spiced chicken and sweet potato casserole, and Mujaddara with halloumi. Those recipes can truly make one very hungry! 

Spiced pinto bean, oat and apple muffins

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1 x 14 oz (400g) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

3 large eggs

1/2 stick plus 3 tablespoons (3 1/2oz/100g) butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz/100g) dark brown sugar

3 small apples (about 3/4 lb/350g), peeled, cored and grated 

2 2/3 cups (9oz/250g) ground almonds

2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup (3 1/2oz/100g) raisins

1/3 cup (2oz/60g) oats, plus a few extra for sprinkling on top

Clear honey to drizzle

Method

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Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC/gas mark 4). Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.

Add the beans to a food processor finely. Add the eggs, butter, and sugar and blend together until smooth and creamy.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the grated apple, almonds, spices, and baking powder and beat until well combined. 

Fold through the raisins and oats, and spoon the mixture into the paper cases. Sprinkle a few extra oats on top of each muffin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until springy to the touch. Before serving, drizzle a little honey on top of the muffins. 

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The comforting aroma of warm apple filled the kitchen. I managed to taste them fresh out of the oven and they melted in your mouth however I would suggest to let them cool a bit that way they won't be so crumbly. Enjoy! - JW