Confession: I hate beets. To me they taste slightly sweet, somewhat slimy and very earthy. And by “earthy” I mean dirt-like. I do appreciate the nutritional value of the beetroot and I admire its beauty. It’s the taste and texture I can’t get past. For these reasons, I’ve been on a mission to come up with ways to consume, but not taste, beets.
We can all have a good laugh at my attempt at Candy Cane Beet Sundaes. That was a mess. But as promised, I have come up with a winner. Chocolate Beet Muffins probably sound a little strange but I swear they taste great.
Using the recipe analyzer at caloriecount.com, I found out that each one of these muffins provides a whopping 17% of your daily fiber recommendation and 9% of your daily iron (based on a 2000 calorie diet). Yay beets!
Chocolate Beet Muffins
- 4 medium-small beets
- 1/2 C dried, pitted dates
- 1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 C raw sugar
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 4 T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 C vegetable oil
- 1/2 C non-dairy milk – unsweetened (I used coconut milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 C chopped walnuts
- 3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (Trader Joe’s brand happens to be vegan)
- in a 350 degree oven, roast the beets (wrap whole, washed beets in tinfoil) until tender, about 1 hour
- once beets are cooled, peel and add to food processor
- add dates to food processor and process until mixture is completely smooth – you will have to scrape down the sides several times
- in a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and use a whisk to get rid of any clumps
- add the wet ingredients, including the beet and date puree and stir until combined
- fold the walnuts and chocolate chips into the batter
- line a 12-muffin pan with wrappers and spray each one with a little PAM
- divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin wrappers
- bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean