The Perfect Muffin for Chocolate Lovers

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The holidays are here! Sorry for the shortage of posts lately: I spent the last few weeks braving REAL winter and cavorting through the chilly climes of Cancun…

Just kidding! Cancun, as you can probably imagine, was amazing, winter weather included. We spent our early December days simply basking under the tropical sun at our seaside resort, dipping our feet in the warm Caribbean waters, and trekking through some of the gorgeous intra-cavern rivers that wound their way through the old Mayan ruins in Xcaret. Needless to say, I was spoiled silly and am making a rather graceless transition back to my California reality even as I type.

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The beachfront view from our resort in downtown Cancun.

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Now that I’m back and bundled up again in this nippy weather, though (yes, east coast folks, you may now roll your eyes), nothing sounds better than curling up with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book. Nothing, that is, except maybe freshly-baked chocolate muffins in the wee cold hours of the wintry morning, which is exactly what I’m sharing with all of you today. What I love most about this recipe is that it skips all of the tedious separate-and-mix steps required in most muffin recipes: all you need to do here is whisk together dry ingredients, whisk together wet ingredients, fold them all together, and throw that batter into the hot piping oven!

As if simple baking couldn’t get any better, these muffins are perfect for the chocolate lover in your life.  The unique combination of yogurt AND milk in this recipe keeps the muffin absolutely moist and fudgy with a hint of cakiness, while the extra chocolate chips that you toss in right before baking add morsels of molten chocolate richness in every bite. Not bad for an innocuous-looking breakfast food!

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(Fun fact: Another reason why I’ve been absent for such an unusually long stretch is because I managed to accidentally poison myself last Sunday while making these cute DIY Sharpie Mugs for a big holiday party that I was hosting the same evening. Like, what? Right? I did my research and apparently they’re safe to use now, but they produced so many unexpected fumes while I was baking them that I was out sick for the next three days. Thankfully, nobody else at the party seemed to notice, and my (much clearer-headed) friend told me immediately to air out my apartment and get outside while we were texting, while yet another friend came over to help me finish party prep, even as I rambled on about how all I wanted was saltines and a nap. (Thank you for saving me, lovelies! <3 )

Despite the chemical high and random crash that this whole experience caused (note to self: DIY is not my friend!), the mugs turned out bang adorable, and I even decorated two cute bowls for our white elephant exchange. They’re filled with lamely hilarious food-related jokes like, “What did the melon say when the honeydew asked it to run away and get married? I can’t-elope!“)

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DIY sharpie mugs that were (almost) worth the chemically-induced high. Almost!
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“What did the leaf say when it found its autumn soulmate? I be-leaf I’ve fallen for you!” and other terribowl jokes.

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But yeah, avoid those DIY oven-baked projects and go make these perfect chocolate lovers’ muffins right now. They’re incredibly rich–and yes, they’re safe. Promise!

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 Which chocolate lover in your life would LOVE these rich, fudgy muffins?

Ala

Chocolate Lovers’ Muffins

Chocolate Lovers’ Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

This is the perfect muffin for chocolate lovers! With a fudgy, slightly cakey texture and chocolate chips sprinkled throughout, every bite of this simple muffin will leave the choco-holic in your life yearning for more.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/2 cup milk or soy milk
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-muffin tin with liners and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla, yogurt, milk, and oil. Pour into dry ingredient mixture and stir until batter is just blended together. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Divide batter evenly across the 12 liners, filling each liner no more than 3/4 full. (If you have leftover batter, save it for a second batch of muffins--avoid overfilling.)
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean with moist crumbs clinging to it. Serve and enjoy!
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13 Replies to “The Perfect Muffin for Chocolate Lovers”

  1. infinity pool in cancun? sounds like a cold, tough life. and that sucks about your sharpie high, but the bowl you made is amazing! i don’t think i’d ever use another bowl again (unless they all somehow included puns).

    1. So cold and soooo tough 😛 come visit, I’ll make you a bowl-tiful bowl!

  2. You’re killing me with these muffins!!! Definitely the chocolate lovers muffin. 🙂 Love the coffee cup!
    Hope you have a wonderful Holiday season!!! See you in 2017!

    1. hehe thank you! xo can’t wait to see you in 2017!!

  3. Home made sharpie designed mugs need to be in my world, as do these super delicious chocolate muffins. YARM. The other day I walked down to the bakery to treat myself, I have been craving chocolate so much lately, but the baker who has just started isnt the best so it was a total let down. I wish I could grab one from my computer screen tho. Yours look amazingly delicious. 🙂 In a months time my mom will be living a 30 minute ferry ride from me, she will have a kitchen I can use and lady… these bad boys are gonna feature. Hope you are well my friend. Sending you a cheery Christmas hug. xoxo

    1. omg your mom is moving close to you? That’s AWESOME, Anna! I can’t wait for all of your baking shenanigans to kick off (I’ll invite myself over for a batch of these muffins, shall I? Or maybe it’d be more appropriate to bring you a dozen as a housewarming gift!) Sorry about the disappointing bakery experience, but I can’t wait to hear more of your stories soon. Happy holidays, gal! xo

  4. Omg, these muffins would be so perfect for taking with me to work in the morning. What better way to start the day than with chocolate, right? And those DIY mugs are sooo cute. I’ve designed mugs with Sharpies before, but they started to fade since I don’t bake them. I’m like terrified of baking the mugs even though they say it’s oven safe. For some reason, I think they’re going to explode on me. lol

    1. I almost expected everything to explode in a huge burst of flames at the end of that crazy day haha. Thank goodness nothing did! Good to know for the future that unbaked Sharpie mugs will at least stay intact for a while 🙂 happy holidays, love!

  5. Oh, my gosh, these muffins look fabulous!! My chocoholic gang would love to wake up to these gems. I LOVE that photo of you by the ocean—you’re making me very jealous after a few sub-zero starts to our days of late. Want to wish you a very Merry Christmas—thanks for brightening my days with your beautiful writing! xo

    1. hehe I always associated chocolate items with your household! Sending very WARM holiday wishes to you and your beautiful family, Liz!

  6. What fabulous looking chocolate muffins, perfect any time of the day. It always takes a little bit of time to return to your regular life after a vacation.

    1. It really does, Gerlinde! I’m glad that I have down-to-earth family and friends to help me make that transition. Happy holidays!!

  7. Happy new year Ala!!

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