I can’t believe that January is over and we’ve been told that spring is “only” six weeks away. As excited as I am about getting closer to spring, I am also a little worried about the little buds that are beginning to stick their heads out in my garden. And while I write this, I see snowflakes falling outside (another snow day). I’m hoping these guys make it through to summer or my garden is going to be flowerless!
I have so many kitchen goals for this warm season, that I’ve made a spreadsheet of what I need to do and when based on our local seasonal produce availability. Over the past few months, we’ve eaten up several jars of stuff that I canned last year and my empty jars are now looking very sad and lonely. It’s time to fill them up!
I baked a lot over the weekend and I made these triple chocolate muffins. Yes, triple chocolate! Dark cocoa, with a double dosing of dark and white chocolate chips, it’s a decadent enough option for breakfast. They are not overly sweet or too moist or heavy to start your morning off, which is why these are my new favorites. Raspberries and chocolate are a fantastic combination and they taste delicious in these muffins. Since, I’m sticking with the theme of breakfast, I dosed these muffins with a little bit of oat bran. I modified and adapted this recipe from The Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book.
triple chocolate raspberry oat bran muffins
yields: 12-16 muffins
ingredients
1/2 cup (1 5/8 ounces) unsweetened dark cocoa
1/2 cup (2 7/8 ounces) oat bran
2 cups ( 8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used a madagascar bourbon extract)
1 teaspoon raspberry extract (optional)
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup semisweet dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet white chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1. Preheat the oven to 375F and place a wire rack in the center of the oven. Place and line the paper muffin cups in a muffin pan. If you don’t have paper muffins cups spray the cups in the pan with a neutral vegetable cooking oil.
2. Sift the cocoa, oat bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt twice in a large mixing bowl and keep aside.
3. Place the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment cream for 4 minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add one egg at a time to creamed butter and sugar mixture and beat each egg into the mixture at medium high speed for one minute. Mix in the vanilla and raspberry extracts for 30 seconds.
5. At medium-high speed, mix in the sifted dry ingredients in three installments, adding half of the yogurt between each installment. You may need to occasionally scrape down the bowl from the sides with a silicone spatula to ensure even mixing. Once the batter is completely mixed, remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips and the raspberries.
6. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out the dough into the lined muffin pan and bake them for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted through the center of the muffin. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Note: Muffins are best when eaten the day they are prepared but if you want to store them, I recommend freezing the muffins in an airtight ziploc bag.
1/2 cup (1 5/8 ounces) unsweetened dark cocoa
1/2 cup (2 7/8 ounces) oat bran
2 cups ( 8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used a madagascar bourbon extract)
1 teaspoon raspberry extract (optional)
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup semisweet dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet white chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1. Preheat the oven to 375F and place a wire rack in the center of the oven. Place and line the paper muffin cups in a muffin pan. If you don’t have paper muffins cups spray the cups in the pan with a neutral vegetable cooking oil.
2. Sift the cocoa, oat bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt twice in a large mixing bowl and keep aside.
3. Place the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment cream for 4 minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add one egg at a time to creamed butter and sugar mixture and beat each egg into the mixture at medium high speed for one minute. Mix in the vanilla and raspberry extracts for 30 seconds.
5. At medium-high speed, mix in the sifted dry ingredients in three installments, adding half of the yogurt between each installment. You may need to occasionally scrape down the bowl from the sides with a silicone spatula to ensure even mixing. Once the batter is completely mixed, remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips and the raspberries.
6. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out the dough into the lined muffin pan and bake them for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted through the center of the muffin. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Note: Muffins are best when eaten the day they are prepared but if you want to store them, I recommend freezing the muffins in an airtight ziploc bag.
8 Responses
These look yummy! I am going to give them a try š
Gorgeous, Nik! I just love the style of your photos, the colors are amazing. Your muffins look great, raspberries plus chocolate is always a good pair š
Irresistible! Those lovely muffins look and sound amazing.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Hopefully Spring is only 6 weeks away. Seems longer today as the sleet is coming down. Wish I had one of these muffins.
Your photography brightens up my day. Hooked to your blog.
Made today for my daughter. I like to have muffins in the freezer for a quick breakfast. You can definitely taste the raspberry. I got more then 16 muffins – more like 20!
Yay! I am so happy you made them and like them. Plus, the extra muffins sounds wonderful, I might have overloaded my muffins holders š