Recipe of the Week: Mincemeat Tea Muffins

1 cup cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oats (pulsed in a food processor)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon lemon peel (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 tablespoons buttermilk powder

1 cup tea

½ cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup mincemeat

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, chia seeds, lemon peel, spices, and buttermilk powder). Whisk tea, olive oil, and mincemeat in a large measuring cup. Pour liquids into dry ingredients. Mix until blended. Fill muffin pans about 2/3 full. Bake in 350 degree F oven until brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

The story behind this recipe: It all started with the jar of mincemeat on the discount table at the grocery store. Evidently they only stock it during the winter holidays so they were get rid of what they had left. I couldn’t resist. The recipe for Mincemeat Tea Cake in an old Christmas oriented cookbook sounded good. I made some changes -

 

  • Whole wheat flour rather than white flour
  • Half the flour replaced with oats
  • Added chia seeds
  • Added lemon peel
  • Used buttermilk powder and tea rather than buttermilk
  • Added applesauce
  • Did not add any sugar (the original recipe called for 1 cup sugar!)
  • Muffins instead of a cake

 

OK - so it is pretty far from the original recipe. They are very good breakfast muffins. Just sweet enough…not too much. I also discovered other uses for mincemeat:

 

  • Cover top of raw shredded sweet potato with mincement…moisten with tea…bake for an hour. Yummy side dish.
  • Mix mincemeat with some olive oil and use as a dressing for fruit or cabbage salad. It worked well with apple/raisin/celery salad (I think of this as ‘Not my Mother’s Waldorf’ Salad)
  • To make a sauce for stir fry…a little goes a long way. I added extra ginger.

 

Maybe I should have bought two jars instead of one from that discount table!