Chocolate Black Bean Cupcakes (Muffins)

Here's more on our picky eating adventure (that sounds nicer than food fight, right?).  I'm looking for all and any way to add more protein to her diet and I'd heard of pork and bean bread from a Joanna Fluke mystery.  They are really fun easy murder mysteries with yummy cookie and other dessert recipes through them (reading can be brain candy too!).

I had already taken the book back to the library so I found a recipe at allrecipes.com.  Of course I decided to change it, I didn't have baked beans, just black and pinto.  Chiquita likes chocolate cake so I decided to go with the black beans and add cocoa.

Here's my tweaked recipe:

1 can black beans
4 eggs
1 cup oil
3 Tbsp baking cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
3 cups of flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325.  Puree beans in a blender or food processor and set aside.   In a big bowl whip four eggs (or use an electric blender).  Add oil, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder stirring until mixed.  Stir in flour.  Finally fold in pureed beans and chocolate chips.  You could add nuts too but I wanted to keep it simple for Chiquita.  Same reason why I didn't add frosting.

Scoop into lined cupcake pan and cook for about 20 minutes (I didn't use a timer so just be sure to check on them every 5 minutes or so).  Makes about 72 mini cupcake, 36 regular cupcakes, or 2 loaf pans.  In our case it was 12 mini cupcakes, 12 regular cupcakes and 1 loaf pan.  Chiquita ate a whole mini cupcake no problem.  She tends to just nibble around the big cupcakes, never really finishing them.

** You don't have to tell your kids there are beans in this.  They will not know unless they watch you bake it.  I served them to a group of 9 and 10 yr old girls who had no clue!**