Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

Ever have one of those days where you just want to eat cupcakes for breakfast?

No? Just me?

Come on, now, be honest. Everyone wants to eat cake for breakfast sometimes, but most of us are too responsible to actually do so. (At least, we are once we're no longer teenagers.) But that's where muffins come in to play.

The last time I announced that I was having chocolate chocolate-chip muffins for breakfast, a friend asked what the difference was between them and a cupcake. Hmm. Lack of frosting, perhaps? These are also just a little bit denser than cupcakes; they don't have that same airy cake feel. On top of that, these muffins have a banana and some applesauce baked into them, which obviously makes them healthy.


So the next time you feel like indulging for breakfast, make yourself some muffins instead!

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

1¾ c flour
¼ c cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 ripe banana
¼ c applesauce
½ c milk (I use nondairy, but I imagine cow milk would work just as well)
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp chocolate extract (optional)
1 tbsp oil
½ c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. In a blender (or in a smaller bowl and using an immersion blender), combine banana with applesauce with milk, water, extracts, and oil. Blend until smooth. Mix into dry ingredients until just combined (leave it a bit lumpy!). Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the middle of one comes out clean (allowing for the fact that sometimes you'll hit a chocolate chip, and that of course won't come out completely clean at all).

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This post is shared at the Happy, Healthy, Green, & Natural Party Blog Hop on 8/24/2015.

Cherry Oat Muffins

What do you do when you want blueberry muffins for breakfast, but are (sadly) out of blueberries?

You substitute cherries, of course!

And then add in a banana. And some oats, for extra breakfast power. And some almond extract, because it complements the cherries so nicely. And change some other things up, just for the fun of it.

We baked up a batch of these for breakfast the other day. They're not super sweet (which is how I prefer my muffins) and they have delicious cherries, which is just perfect for this time of year. Give 'em a try and let me know how you like 'em!

Cherry Oat Muffins

1 c flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose)
½ c rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ - 1 tsp cinnamon (I actually used Penzey's Apple Pie Spice, but whatever)
1 banana (very ripe)
¼ c nondairy milk
¼ c maple syrup (or agave or honey)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1 tbsp applesauce
1 tbsp oil (I used coconut, but feel free to use whatever you like, or use more applesauce instead)
½ c cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon).

Use a blender or immersion blender to cream banana with nondairy milk, maple syrup, extracts, applesauce, and oil. Fold into dry ingredients along with chopped cherries; mix until just combined, and be careful not to overmix!

Divide between muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, until cooked all the way through. Let cool a few minutes before eating.

Makes 12 muffins.

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This post is shared at the Healthy, Happy, Green, & Natural Party Blog Hop on 7/5/2015.

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

Is it too early for pumpkin everything?

It's technically almost autumn, although here in San Diego the weather doesn't seem to have gotten that memo.  It has been ridiculously hot and humid these past few days.  Temperatures in the nineties, humidity that makes it pretty much unbearable to be outside after 9:00 A.M. or so.  (Unless you're in a swimming pool, which is where we spent a good chunk of our morning.)  And we, unfortunately, currently live in an apartment without central air.  And it's a "reduce your use" day, according to SDG&E, so I can't even sit in front of our little A/C unit all day in good conscience.  Sigh.

Thankfully, we got our baking out of the way early this morning.  We *always* get up early; Little Bug rarely sleeps in past 6 these days.  (What am I talking about??  I don't know that he's ever reliably slept in...)  And since we were expecting company, baking some treats seemed like a good plan.

Actually, baking yummy treats is ALWAYS a good plan.  Company or not.  Just sayin'.

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

1 cup flour
¾ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ - ½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons applesauce

Preheat oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  (The spice isn't especially strong in these muffins, so if you like a stronger spice flavor you might consider adding a full teaspoon of pumpkin spice or even more.  Or, of course, feel free to create your own blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, etc., in whatever proportions please you!)

In a smaller bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, and applesauce.  (Note that I like at least a little bit of oil in my baked goods; I am generally not a fan of the texture of muffins that have no fat at all.  That being said, if that doesn't bother you, these would probably be pretty tasty with extra applesauce subbed in for that last bit of oil, if you so desire.)  Add to dry ingredients and mix until just blended; lumps are fine, and it's okay if there are occasional patches of dry ingredients.  Pour into a prepared muffin tin.

Bake 13-14 minutes, until muffins are golden on top and a toothpick or knife inserted into one comes out clean.