Chickpea Peanut Butter Muffins with Cacao Nibs Vegan (date sweetened)

A healthy whole food plant-based no oil way to satisfy those chocolate peanut butter cravings. Sweetened exclusively with whole dates, these guilt-free muffins are the perfect grab-and-go nutritious snack. Chickpeas add deliciously satisfying legume protein and fiber.

GUILT-FREE PEANUT BUTTER LOVE

Peanut butter is a whole plant food and, as such, it can be a healthy part of my whole food plant based (WFPB) lifestyle so long as it’s consumed in moderation. Peanut butter moderation is a tricky proposition for me because one of my favorite ways of enjoying peanut butter is with a spoon straight out of the jar. Enter the whole grain plant-based peanut butter muffin! Made with protein-packed chickpeas, whole grain flour and sweetened with dates, these muffins deliciously distribute peanut butter goodness so that the fat ratio is moderated without compromising on rich creamy peanut buttery flavor. Cacao nibs are a delightfully crunchy way to introduce chocolate without having to contend with non WFPB adherent refined fats or sweeteners.

SWEET BAKING WITH CHICKPEAS

While the Western world is mostly still getting used to the idea of using beans in anything other than savory dishes, other cultures have been doing it for centuries. Putting beans in muffins is a delightful way to increase their protein, fiber and micronutrient content. Chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, are a nice choice because they’re widely available just about everywhere, have a mild chestnut-like flavor, and a neutral color. In these muffins, the subtle natural sweetness of chickpeas bolsters the creamy peanut butter flavor.

THE MAGIC OF DATES IN WFPB BAKING

My sweet recipes get most of their sweetness from whole dried fruits. And my go to dried fruits for sweetening recipes are dates. Dates are intensely sweet with a rich caramel-like flavor that blends in seamlessly with other ingredients. When processed with other ingredients, dates work as a binder, helping to hold batters together the way that eggs do in traditional, non-vegan, baking. Pureed dates also help to lock in moisture, acting as a substitute for added fats in whole food plant-based recipes. From a nutritional standpoint, dates are a whole plant food packed with fiber and a symphony of other nutrients.

My favorite dates for baking are pitted Deglet Noor because they’re sweet, flavorful, widely available and usually soft and moist. You can also use medjool dates by prepping and measuring them in the same way as you would Deglet Noor. When I bake with dates I always begin by chopping or slicing them. I’ve found that dates that are supposedly pitted are, in fact, usually not all pitted. When I’m chopping, I can find and remove any hidden pits and hard stems that may still be attached. In recipes like this one where the dates will be processed in a blender or food processor, chopping dates allows them to be processed more quickly and effectively. Chopping or slicing dates also allows for greater consistency when packing them into a spoon or cup for measuring.

PROCESSOR OR HIGH SPEED BLENDER

This recipe requires a food processor or a high speed blender (1000 watts or higher) in order to turn cooked chickpeas, dates, peanut butter, plant milk and vanilla extract into a paste. Electronic appliances like food processors and blenders allow us to quickly and easily harness the power of whole plant foods such as dates and cooked beans, eliminating the need for ingredients like oil, sugar, white flour and eggs which are calorie dense and comparatively low in nutrients.

FOLDING FOR BETTER TEXTURE

The sweetened chickpea peanut butter paste is folded into the dry ingredients in a regular mixing bowl because processing glutenous flours can create gumminess. All the dry ingredients are combined first. Then the paste is folded in until all the dry ingredients are incorporated to form a stiff dough. I like to add the cacao nibs when the dough just before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

SCOOP AND BAKE

Paper baking cups make being oil-free easy. I like to use a large soup spoon to scoop my batter into 2-1/2 inch paper baking cups which line a standard muffin pan. Ideally all the muffins get the exact same amount of batter. In my oven, baking time is 25 minutes at 350 ℉. When muffins are done they should look toasty golden on top and feel firm.

SUBSTITUTIONS & VARIATIONS

• Use a Different Nut Butter: This recipe will work with just about any nut butter or with sunflower seed butter. I’m not sure about tahini because it’s oilier and contains more liquid.

• Try a Different Bean: Chickpeas aren’t the only beans that are good in muffins. For this recipe I recommend sticking with light colored beans like cannellini or pinto, but red kidney beans might be good too.

• Use a Different Glutenous Flour: I like whole wheat pastry flour because it’s the lightest and flakiest of all the whole grain flours. But many other kinds of whole grain and refined flours would also work in this recipe. White all purpose flour is fine, regular whole wheat and whole or refined spelt flour would be some of my top picks.

• Gluten-Free Variations: I haven’t tried making a gluten-free version of these muffins but I think that using gf oat flour would work as a whole grain gluten-free substitute though the muffins will be more dense. Another option is to use a gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour or Cup4Cup Multipurpose Baking Flour.

• Go with Chocolate Chips: For muffins that are more decadent and a little less healthy you can use vegan chocolate chips or chunks instead of the cacao nibs. Up to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips would be fine.

• Change the Spice: Instead of allspice you could use pumpkin spice, apple pie spice or cinnamon.

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