Chocolate Muffins

I recently purchased individually packaged DeLand Bakery Gluten Free Chocolate Premium Muffins from my local Whole Foods.  My girls and I loved how they tasted, but they were a little dry, so I decided to try and make chocolate muffins at home.  

My starting point was a recipe for Chocolate Breakfast Muffins from Nicole Hunn's Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy.  On my first attempt, I made 36 mini muffins instead of 12 standard size muffins, and subbed Greek yogurt and milk for the buttermilk.  My girls loved them, but I felt like they needed to be a little sweeter, and I wanted to add some fiber.  Today, I added honey, flax, and more cinnamon to the recipe, and they were just perfect.  

You could make 12 standard size muffins with this recipe, but I always prefer to make mini muffins.  They are great for portion control, they cook faster, and they freeze really well.  

I highly recommend buying some mini muffin pans if you don't already have them.  I have a 12 and a 24 count mini muffin pan, because a recipe for 12 standard size muffins makes 36 mini muffins.  When converting regular muffin recipes to mini muffins, cut the cooking time by 10 minutes.  

My daughters said they like these muffins as much as their favorite Mexican chocolate banana muffins, which makes me happy, because they are easier to make.  

Chocolate Mini Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 C (210 grams) gluten free all-purpose flour
3/4 C (164 grams) light brown sugar - packed
2/3 C (53 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 T ( 112 grams) unsalted butter - room temperature
3/4 C plain Greek yogurt - room temperature
1/4 C + 2 T lowfat milk - room temperature
2 extra-large eggs - room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 T honey
2 T flaxseed meal

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease muffin pan/pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and cinnamon, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar.  Add the butter, yogurt, and milk, stirring well to combine.  Beat the eggs before added them to the batter, along with the vanilla, honey, and flax.

Stir the batter until smooth, then fill the muffin cups with a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, slightly heaping.  Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven for about 12 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

If you are using an all-purpose flour without xanthan gum, add 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the dry ingredients.  I use Cup4Cup or  Better Batter.

I use Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa, which is Dutch processed, but you can use unsweetened natural cocoa powder.

Other products I used: Bob's Red Mill Organic Golden Flaxseed Meal, Stonyfield Organic nonfat Greek yogurt, and Winter Park Orange Blossom Honey.

If you are making 12 standard size muffins, cook them for about 22 minutes.

The first time I made these muffins, I didn't have any unsalted butter, so I used salted butter, and cut the kosher salt down to 1/4 teaspoon.

These muffins freeze really well, so they are a great make-ahead breakfast for the work/school week.  I defrost three at a time for a minute in the microwave, put some fruit on the plate, and I have two happy kids.

November 25, 2014 Update - This morning, I used 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of low fat plain kefir instead of the yogurt and milk, and the muffins turned out great.