Whole Wheat Chocolate-Coffee Muffins

It’s been super chilly in Nashville the last few days, so Fearless Baby + I haven’t been able to get out as much as usual. So, what have we been doing? Lots of baking + cooking! Now that Baby is crawling, she follows me constantly from room-to-room in the house. When I cook/bake in the kitchen, she’s happy to stay within a few feet of me, playing gleefully at my feet with spatulas, tupperware containers, + spoons. I can’t deny that it’s pretty darn adorable. =)

Yesterday we had an hour until Baby’s morning nap: a perfect opportunity to sneak in a little baking! I remembered these awesome Banana-Chocolate-Coffee Muffins that my friend Alexandra had shared with me last month, + decided to give them a try. Until I realized I had no bananas. Nor buttermilk. Nor cacao nibs. So, I got creative, substituting applesauce for the mashed banana, chocolate milk for the buttermilk, and more chopped chocolate for the cacao nibs. So, how did my adapted muffins turn out? Really tasty! They have a delicious, earthy flavor from the whole wheat flour, with awesome notes of chocolate + coffee, + an almost fruity flavor from the olive oil. Texture-wise, they were incredibly light, fluffy, + moist. They’re super versatile, just as perfect as an afternoon pick-me-up as they are as an early morning treat. Hope y’all try ’em + love ’em!

Whole Wheat Chocolate-Coffee Muffins

Makes about 22 muffins, adapted from The Vanilla Bean Blog

Ingredients

2 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk (I substituted chocolate milk)
3/4 cup canola or olive oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup strong coffee, at room temperature
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or bittersweet chocolate morsels)
turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line two muffin tins with muffin cups.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together, and make a well in the center. Combine the oil, milk, applesauce, coffee, vanilla, maple syrup, sugar, and egg. Whisk the wet ingredients together and pour over the dry ingredients. Stir the ingredients together until almost mixed (there will be a few dry streaks}. Add the chocolate bits/morsels and finish mixing until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pans, filling each muffin cup about two-thirds full. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until the muffin edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out with the very tiniest bit of crumb, 16-20 minutes.

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