Double Chocolate Muffins

Summer is here. The sun is out, shining brightly, heating the earth and the air with a pleasant warmth. The grass is a vivid green, the flowers are in bloom, and the perfumed scent of lilacs floats up in the air and down the paved sidewalks. Children are running and playing, making makeshift soccer goals out of park benches, and young women are sunbathing, soaking up the sun's rays. By all accounts, the weather is lovely—the view outside my window could be an illustration from a children's book.

But for now that's all it is: a view.

I have been indoors quite a bit lately, tethered to an electrical outlet, typing away at the computer while writing essays and finishing assignments as I wrap up my degree. As a parade of t-shirts and shorts pass my second-story window, I wear pants and wrap myself in sweatshirts, struggling to keep warm in the air-conditioned building. I feel like I am at the end of two separate extremes, my wishes and duties tugged in opposite directions.

Soon, I tell myself, soon you can take a break and go outside.

I made these muffins last weekend, when the weather was miserable and as cold as my air-conditioned building. It was one of those mornings made for socks and warm breakfasts. Growing up, I was a fan of double chocolate anything but, after eating too many platters of double chocolate chocolate chip pancakes at the local breakfast diner at few years ago, my excitement for the combination has waned. Even so, I felt enough time had passed to give the combination of chocolate and chocolate another chance.

As a self-proclaimed chocolate addict, I could never stray away for too long.

Double Chocolate Muffins are defined by a measuring cup full of cocoa powder and a handful of chocolate chips. The muffins have brown sugar for depth of flavor and ground flaxseeds for health. Before baking, the muffin tops are sprinkled with granulated sugar and miniature chocolate chips for a tasty appearance and extra sweetness. The muffins stay surprisingly moist for a couple days and make for a bright breakfast or afternoon snack.

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Double Chocolate Muffins

Yields 1 dozen (or 6 jumbo) muffins

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (43 grams) cocoa powder
1/2 cup (53 grams) flax meal
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (235 ml) milk
1/2 cup (85 grams) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease a muffin tin or line with baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, flax meal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the egg, vanilla, vegetable oil, and milk, mixing until the batter is evenly incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly between baking cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle the tops with chocolate chips and granulated sugar, if desired. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Comments

[Hollee]

These look just lovely but you missed the cocoa powder in the ingredients list!

[Elen]

Mmm..so chocolate! I want have them for my breakfast:D so I know what I'll do this evening)))

[Kiran @ KiranTarun.com]

Decadence at it's best!! What's not to love when it's double chocolate deliciousness :D

[Carolina]

Lovely pictures! Must try the recepie today.
Love, Carolina

[Vickie]

yum, they looks & sound awesome!

[Patricia Rainha]

This recipe seems amazing, but don't have the Cocoa powder quantities, thanks for sharing such wonderful stuff

[Bella]

love love love that you used an Importance of Being Earnest quote! great blog btw, I've made your cinnamon banana pancakes (a few times...) and they are far and beyond the best pancake recipe I have ever come across. x

[sarah]

Is it 1 cup of Cocoa?

[Jessie]

The ingredients list is missing cocoa powder -- just want to confirm it is. 1 c (how many grams?) and that nothing else on the list changes. It looks a lot like your chocolate flax oat ones so I'm just trying to make sure i get what you are keeping the same and what is different

[Sarvani (baker-in-disguise)]

There is never anything like too much of chocolate in my life!! and I could so do with one of these today!! I like the idea of chocolate chips sprinkled on top!!

[Carrie]

How much cocoa powder? I keep looking at the ingredient list and can't find it

[colleen]

These look so good! I have everything to make them EXCEPT flax seed... any suggestions that I can use as a substitute for the Flax seeds...I don't care about the healthy part if it entails me having to go to the supermarket :)

[Kristin Rosenau]

All-- I accidentally wrote "whole wheat flour" instead of cocoa powder. There should be 1/2 cup (43 grams) cocoa powder in the recipe and NO whole wheat flour. I've fixed the recipe above. Thanks for pointing that out!

Colleen-- Use whole wheat flour or all purpose flour in its place (1/2 cup) and you shouldn't have a problem.

[Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)]

Those are some seriously stunning muffins. You definitely sealed it with me when you mentioned double chocolate!

[Louise]

Wow - these look amazing. You can just tell by looking that they won't be a disappointment! I am, without doubt, going to make these within the next week, if not this weekend. Mmmmm. Lx

[Becca frm Cookie Jar Treats]

These look so beautiful. I always have a hard time with chocolate chocolate chip muffins. They are either too chocolatey or not chocolatey enough. I can't wait to try these :)

[jennifer]

Mmmm I can almost smell them!

xo Jennifer

[Adelheid Russenberger]

I hate to be pedantic (particularly about what look likes some delicious muffins), but the quote from Oscar Wilde actually refers to English rather than American muffins - hence the reference to butter. English muffins can only be properly appreciated when freshly toasted, split in half (after not before toasting) and generously buttered; an agitated state of mind is certainly detrimental to the full appreciation of a good English muffin (even if your one true love has just discovered that you have been deceiving her for years with the pretence to have been called Ernest ...).

But quibbles about muffins aside, I must try this American version!

[Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar]

These are straight up gorgeous!!

[Hollee]

Made them. They're as great as they look. Thanks for another great recipe. :)

[Ash@foodfashionparty]

Gorgeous photography and scrumptious cupcakes!!

[Katie]

It's so hard to do indoor work of any sort in the summer - it's as if everyone outside is purposefully torturing you! I'm missing the days of summer vacation something awful these days. Here's hoping you get outside soon - and it's still beautiful!

[madscar]

Uaau this is amazing:) I love it!

[Nancy @ gottagetbaked]

Beautiful photos and I'm drooling over these double chocolate muffins. I haven't eaten one since high school. My mom used to buy boxes of those jumbo chocolate chip and double chocolate muffins from Costco all the time. I got so sick of eating them that I haven't had anything similar since. Homemade is definitely better so I should give this recipe a try.

[gela]

would it matter if i skip the flax meal? it's kinda hard to get that from where i am :(

[Kristin Rosenau]

Gela-- Just used flour in its place and it should turn out okay!

[Thomas Perez]

So chocolatey! I really love chocolates. It is my happy food. Always makes me better after a long and tiring day from work. I have to make me one of those soon.

[rosa]

i love the recipe and i accsually tried it and i loved it it was magnificent i loved it thank you for making such a wonderful recipe.

[Abby]

Another flax meal question... Is it okay to just use the flax seeds? Because those I have :) Otherwise, I will just add flour.

[Kristin Rosenau]

Abby-- Just grind those flax seeds up in a spice grinder or food processor. The flax is used to replace flour and therefore needs to function like a flour. It does so when ground up into a meal, but cannot if the seeds are kept whole.

[Lav]

Ah! I don't know what went wrong for me... I tried the recipe but the result was a muffin that, while identical in appearance to yours, was otherwise a failure. The taste of baking soda was especially strong in mine, despite using the amount specified. The taste of chocolate was also rather weak... :( What went wrong?

[Megan]

Made these today. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe :) I used banana as the fruit puree and vegetable oil instead of coconut oil. I also used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour. They came out delicious!

[ML]

Just wanted to say a huge thank you! They turned out fantastic even though I didn't have all purpose flour and used whole wheat instead. They even turned out pretty close to the picture, that's always a bonus xD

[Jen]

Is this supposed to be made with Dutch process Cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder?
Thanks a bunch :D

[marina]

i tried these for breakfast today and simply had to write you a comment - these were the most perfect muffins i've ever tried. so delicately crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, moist and filling. thank you for sharing the recipe! (: