Citrus Chickpea Almond Muffins

 

As I was digging through my recipes to find a make-ahead breakfast dish that was low in sugar, I found these lemon chickpea muffins. I’ve decided to call them citrus muffins, given that there’s as much orange flavor as lemon! I’ve also decided that the aquafaba should be kept and whipped, then added in with the whipped egg whites. These muffins were good, though I’ll admit that I don’t like them as much as “regular” muffins. Also, since there’s not much sugar in them, they don’t keep long – I recommend keeping them in the fridge or freezing them. 

For the muffins 

1¾ cup (271 g) chickpeas from a 15 oz. can, drained (keep the aquafaba!) and rinsed 

1 Tbsp. (12 g) lemon zest 

1 Tbsp. (12 g) orange zest 

2 Tbsp. (28 g) fresh lemon juice 

2 Tbsp. (28 g) fresh orange juice 

¼ cup (52 g) extra virgin olive oil 

¼ cup (45 g) granulated sugar 

2 eggs, separated

⅔ cup (80 g) whole wheat flour, sifted 

2 tsp. (8 g) baking powder 

½ tsp. (2 g) salt 

½ tsp. (2 g) ground cardamom 

⅓ cup (30 g) ground almonds 

For the topping 

1 Tbsp. (8 g) ground or slivered almonds 

¼ tsp. (1 g) ground cardamom 

½ tsp. (2 g) granulated sugar (optional; I didn’t use it) 

Preheat oven to 325 °F. Line muffin tin with paper liners. 

Purée the chickpeas in a food processor until smooth. Add the lemon and orange zest, juice, olive oil, sugar, and egg yolks. Purée until smooth. 

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Stir in the chickpea mixture, and then add the ground almonds. 

Whisk the egg whites until they hold semi-soft peaks. If using, whisk the aquafaba until it holds semi-soft peaks and fold into the egg-white mixture. Fold the egg whites into the batter carefully, so as not to deflate the egg whites. 

In a small bowl, combine the ground or slivered almonds, cardamon, and sugar (if using). Set aside. 

Scoop batter into muffin tin. Sprinkle the muffin batter with some of the almond-cardamom mixture. 

Bake in the oven 12 to 13 minutes (14 minutes in my case), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.