Roasted Hazelnut Spiced Mini Muffins

The mayor of Portlandia held a press conference to let everyone know that the city is "ready" for the big snow storm. Well, the snow looked more like rain at first and it was a bit white out there this morning yet it melted completely by mid day. Needless to say, we were inside most of the day and I was able to mess with some of the spices sent to me by Frank's Finest LLC. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about using spice blends as I usually use single spices and adjust to my own taste. I am happy to say that every blend of Frank's that I tried I loved. His Dessert Blend is perfect for any muffin with its chai flavors and lovely lucuma and coconut sweetness.

Its great leaving these little muffins on the counter in my house and watching kids walk by and grab one, they slowly disappear over a couple of days. If you don't have mini muffins pans, you can make them in paper lined full muffin cups at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Roasted Hazelnut Spiced Mini Muffins

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups roasted hazelnuts

1 tablespoon Frank's Finest Dessert Blend

1/2 cup chia flour (chia seeds ground to a fine meal)

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coconut oil gently melted

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup honey

preparation:

To roast hazelnuts:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast hazelnuts for 13-15 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely.

For muffins:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin trays with paper cups. Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor fitted with an S blade until finely ground. Add spice blend, chia flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, and sea salt and pulse until combined. Add vanilla, coconut oil, applesauce and honey and run food processor until ingredients reach a smooth consistency. Using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon scoop batter into muffin tins filling each to the top. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. Remove from tins and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before eating.

Yield: 24 mini muffins