Chia Cupcakes

Today kicks off week two of The New Southwest Cookbook Spotlight; I could not be more curious to see what everybody chose to make with their free rein.  In other words, I chose the recipe last week, and everybody made it.  I love in and of itself, because it's always fun to see the variations and similarities in a dish when 15 different people make it.  But this week is fun, too, because it's a surprise!  Although I know it was not an easy task deciding what to make.  I bet more than one person simply closed their eyes and chose a bookmark at random.

I've already made several delicious dishes from The New Southwest, but today I wanted to share the very first thing that I made after paging through the book.  I'm not a cupcake person.  Don't get me wrong, I like cupcakes.  They're just not something that I normally gravitate towards unless there's a birthday coming up or something.  But the mental image of these beautifully speckled chia cupcakes was something that I just couldn't shake.

I mean, they are packed to the brim with fragrant, toasted chia seeds.  In my opinion, they could easily be called a muffin.  So go ahead, eat them alongside your coffee or tea in the morning.

I'm totally giving you permission to eat cupcakes for breakfast.

And the smell.  OH, THE SMELL!  Deep, earthy, honey-tinged...my kitchen was telling the whole neighborhood that it was the place where dreams were made.

Chia Cupcakes

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 22-24 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast dessert vegetarian soy-free nut-free chia seeds buttermilk honey cake Southwest

Ingredients (16 cupcakes)

for the cupcakes:

• 1 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or vegetable)
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

for the frosting:

• 6 ounces whipped cream cheese
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground canela (or regular cinnamon)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners (or grease it), and set aside.

Set a skillet over medium heat and add the chia seeds. Toast, tossing often, until seeds become fragrant, and slightly darker in color; 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool a bit.

making the cupcakes:

Cream the coconut oil and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the buttermilk, honey, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt; beat in slowly until just combined. Fold in the chia seeds.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, ~3 tablespoons per cup. Slide into preheated oven and bake for 22-24 minutes, or until golden, puffy, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack before frosting.

making the frosting:

Combine everything in a bowl and beat on low speed until combined. Raise speed to high and whip until you have a light, fluffy frosting, ~2 minutes. Spread onto cooled cupcakes.

-adapted from The New Southwest by Meagan Micozzi

side note on the recipe:  I did adapt this slightly from Meagan's original.  I found that I had a lot of extra frosting, so I halved the recipe.  I've always liked the cake more than the frosting, though - so keep this in mind if you make these.  Also the original recipe yielded 24 cupcakes, but mine only yielded 16.  So, if you're making these, your results may vary somewhere between 16 & 24.

If you missed last week's "host choice" recipe, Mushroom and Leek Migas, please drop by The New Southwest event page.  You will find links to each person's post, see their results, their spin, and their thoughts on that recipe.  Also, check it all week long for updates on what people are making this week!

This post is part of The New Southwest Cookbook Spotlight sponsored by Hippocrene and hosted at girlichef.


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