Just checking in to share a few of my birthday eats and treats from yesterday. I shared a few snapshots from my pre-birthday dinner on Saturday, but wanted to showcase a few more and bask in my birthday glow a little longer. And also, it gave me something to do today while I prepare to take the New York Bar Exam tomorrow and Wednesday. I decided treating this test like a race was the best idea, and that tapering was a good call, so I spaced out my studies and gave myself plenty of time, and took most of the weekend off from Friday through this morning. This afternoon, I’ll review a bit more before having dinner and getting to bed at a decent hour (we have to be at the test center at 7:30am tomorrow, so I need to leave my apartment by 6:30am). I’ll check back in when it’s all over, but until then, I leave you with these morsels of deliciousness…
Tag Archives: cupcake
Cocoa-Chocolate-Chip Cuppins
I am very particular when it comes to chocolate. I only like dark chocolate (I will tolerate good milk chocolate if it is accompanied by something else delicious, like caramel or berries) and I do not consider white chocolate worthy of the name. And usually, I only enjoy chocolate when it is actual chocolate – in a bar, as a truffle, or chopped into chips. I throw dark chocolate chips into yogurt, ice cream, and oatmeal, and sometimes I snack on a few straight from the bag! But I generally don’t delight in anything that is “flavored” with chocolate, like chocolate cake or cookies. When it comes to that stuff, I’m a classic vanilla girl.
These Cocoa-Chocolate-Chip Cuppins are an exception to that rule, the result of accidentally tossing in some unsweetened cocoa powder instead of brown sugar when I was making vanilla chip “cuppins” one day. If a muffin and a cupcake had a baby, the result would be a cute little cuppin – similar to my Marvelous Muffins because I use gluten-free whole rolled oats, but blended with white sorghum flour for a more cupcake-like texture. They’re delicious, with the cuppin tasting definitively of cocoa and the bittersweet chocolate chips adding a deep dark chocolate flavor. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do – they’re the perfect chocolate kick for a breakfast or snack!
Ingredients:
1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp gluten-free sorghum flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF sorghum flour)
4 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
1/3 cup milk of choice
2 large eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar or preferred sweetener
1 tbsp melted butter
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp applesauce
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 large chocolate chips or chunks (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chips)
Olive oil or cooking spray
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add egg, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla extract and mix well, ensuring a uniform color and consistency (the batter will remain thick – they’re cuppins, not just cupcakes!)
4. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Grease each wrapper VERY well with oil or cooking spray, otherwise your cuppins will stick to the wrappers.
5. Pour batter evenly into each wrapper. Place a dark chocolate chip on top of each one.
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
7. Let cool.
8. Enjoy!
© 2015 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.
Cocoa Chocolate Chip Muffins
Today’s recipe for Cocoa Chocolate Chip Muffins is all about cocoa and cacao, the things that make chocolate by any other name and which I’m very particular about.
I only really enjoy dark chocolate, which I absolutely as a bar, as a truffle, or chopped into chips. I throw dark chocolate chips into yogurt, ice cream, and oatmeal, and sometimes I snack on them straight from the bag, along with handfuls of dark chocolate covered berries 🙂
Since I love dark chocolate but am not a fan of the lighter stuff, I generally don’t delight in anything that is “flavored” with chocolate, like chocolate cake or ice cream. When it comes to that, I’m a classic vanilla girl. Or berry, or caramel… And yet, I have lots of family and friends who DO love chocolate cakes and cookies and cupcakes. Some want to eat chocolate for breakfast. But not chocolate in their oatmeal. And thus, these Cocoa Chocolate Chip Muffins were born. Of course, muffins by any other name are essentially cake for breakfast. If you really wanted, you could just have my Dark Chocolate Cupcakes or Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Bars. But if you want a rich, dark cocoa muffin gooey with dark chocolate chips, look no further than these.
- 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp gluten-free sorghum flour
- 4 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup milk of choice
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp miniature dark chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar or preferred sweetener
- 2 Tbsp applesauce
- 1 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- Additional butter, olive oil or cooking spray (for pan)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add egg, yogurt, applesauce, butter, and vanilla extract and mix well, ensuring a uniform color and consistency.
- Add in chocolate chips and ensure they are mixed evenly throughout.
- Grease a 12-muffin tin well with butter or oil.
- Pour batter evenly into each wrapper.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool and enjoy!
What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?
© 2015 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.