Salted Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins

Sweet whole wheat muffins with a tender crumb and melty chocolate chips!  The salt on top is optional, but highly recommended as it brings out the chocolate - oh, and there is no butter or cow's milk; these are dairy free!

 

I am addicted to Foodgawker.

 

It is so fun to look through all the beautiful photos of creative food!  Anytime I need inspiration, I go there.  It promises quality pictures and a wide variety of recipes.  And there is no weeding through hundreds of the same recipe on Pinterest because it happens to be incredibly popular.  Don't get me wrong, I am also a major Pinterest junkie, but Foodgawker makes my little food blogger heart very happy.

 

I found this recipe from Pretty Simple Sweet and learned so much from her post!  She revealed all the secrets to a bakery style muffin.  And as you can tell, they work!

 

 

 

Go read the whole post (her photos are really pretty as well) but I will share the one trick that stood out to me.  It makes perfect sense and works like a charm! 

 

Want tall, domed muffins?  Begin baking them at a higher temperature and after a few minutes, lower it to the temperature. This way, the muffins rise quickly and the outside edges will set faster than the center, causing the muffin to have a peak.  Then, they can finish baking at the lower temperature so the edges don't get too brown.  I don't like flat muffins, I mean, that domed top is the best part!  Sometimes, I'll just eat the top part ... please tell me I'm not the only one.

 

 

Ah, yes, the top part.  That is straight kosher salt.  You could definitely use coarse sugar, we just never have it on hand.  And I love the way it looks on baked goods. 

 

If you aren't into the sweet and salty, omit it or use coarse sugar, I won't judge.  I bet it would amazing!  But I love getting the mini chocolate chips and the salt together.  It really brings out the chocolate and adds that addictive saltiness.  My family was split on this, so really, it is up to your personal preference.  It isn't the make it or break it ingredient, but it is what makes this recipe different. ;)

 

 

 

Thanks to canola (or coconut oil) and dairy free chocolate chips, these are friendly to any lactose intolerant diets.  Even better, you don't miss the dairy!  As far as chocolate chip muffins, this is my favorite recipe to date. 

 

Using mini chocolate chips spreads out the melty chocolate pockets on the inside of the muffin, making these extra delicious while warm. 

 

They are perfectly domed, with the crusty, bread reminiscent top that bakeries are known for. 

 

They are lightly sweetened, making them feel dessert worthy, when in reality, you could totally eat one for breakfast.  They're healthy, with only 2-1/2 tablespoons of oil between six hefty muffins, which are 100% whole wheat. 

 

And even though they are whole wheat, they aren't dry or flat. 

 

Finally, aren't they just about the prettiest things you've ever seen?

 

 

I might just be a tad bit obsessed.

Salted Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Pretty Simple Sweet
Yield: 6 muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 egg
1/2 cup almond milk*
2-1/2 tablespoons canola oil (or melted coconut oil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips**

Topping (opt):
Enjoy Life chocolate chips
Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425F degrees.  

Grease12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Add sugar.

In a medium bowl, mix the egg with the milk, oil and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not overmix. The batter should be quite thick and lumpy. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cups almost all the way to the top. Bake for 3 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 375F/190C and continue to bake for an additional 12-17 minutes (this is for standard size muffins. See post notes for jumbo and mini muffins baking times) until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

*If you aren't lactose intolerant, you can substitute regular cow's milk. 
**If you aren't lactose intolerant, you can substitute regular mini chocolate chips.

 

More muffins!  (I think they are my favorite thing to photograph)

 

Whole Wheat Fresh Cranberry Muffins (dairy free)

 

 

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Honey Gingerbread Muffins

 

 

Lemon Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins

 

 

40 Calorie Chocolate Muffin Cupcakes

 

 

 

Whole Wheat Fresh Cranberry Muffins (dairy free)

I've been baking muffins like crazy this week!  After several failed cinnamon roll recipes, I decided to stick with what I could do.  I can do muffins!  Better yet, I can do skinny muffins. But cinnamon rolls? … meh, we are still working on that.

These are the second or third batch of muffins I've made this week and these cranberry ones are the best.  And I mean, the best.

I've said this before, I'll say it again:  I will take muffins and sweet breads over cookies any day of the week.  There is something about quick breads and muffins that I just love.  The dense crumb, the moist bread, the fluffy middle - it is my happy place.

(Sprinkles are my happy place, too)

My first batch tasted great, but really dense.  I didn't have enough oil or baking powder to give the muffins that lighter crumb. 

This time around, everything was just right!  Everyone gave these 10 out of 10 ... except for those who didn't like cranberries.  They said the muffin itself was delicious, they just don't care for cranberries.  If you aren't the biggest fan of cranberries, feel free to sub blueberries, chocolate chips, or even raisins.  Whatever you use, these are the best 100% whole wheat muffins I've ever made.  And this combination of coconut oil, soy milk, and applesauce bakes up the most moist and tender muffins I've eaten.  So, these are not only the best 100% whole wheat muffins, I've ever had, these are the best dairy free muffins I've ever had.

 

They're the best ever - period.

 

I personally love the bright color of the cranberries, and the tartness they add.  They're so pretty and brighten any rushed morning, especially these grey snow days.  Trust me from experience, they make grab-and-go breakfasts easy and delicious.

Whole Wheat Fresh Cranberry Muffins (dairy free)

Recipe Source: Adapted from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-3/4 cup cranberries + 1/4 for topping (I used fresh cranberries, but frozen works well, too!)

Preheat oven to 375.
In a large microwave safe bowl, melt coconut oil. 
Stir in applesauce, milk, and vanilla.
Whisk in eggs.
Add sugar, stir until dissolved.
Add flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Stir until incorporated.
Chop cranberries in half and add to batter.  Fold in gently.
Divide batter between 12 greased muffin cups.
Press reserved 1/4 cup halved cranberries on to tops of muffins.
Bake for 25-27 minutes.
Let cool.

Notes: Freezer friendly!  And did I mention these muffins are the best ever? 

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Muffins

"I got nuffin' for ya."

That's how John Caleb let us all know the fudge muffins were ready. He can't say muffins ... he can say mom and medicine and math, but I guess muffins is too hard. 

Nuffins. "I want my nuffins."

Well okay then.

 

 

For some (*cough*) muffins may be hard to say, but they aren't hard to make!  One bowl, one baking time, one batch of happiness. 

Every New Year's, my mom gets us new calendars. I was with her when she was shopping for them and got to pick mine out.  I picked one that is full of all kinds of cupcake recipes; one for every day of the year.  Definitely my kind of calendar and it is super fun to look through.  There are sweet and savory cupcakes, from avocado lemon basil to chocolate raspberry.  And the photos are all really pretty.

I saw this vegan one and was curious.  A friend had told me she didn't like vegan baking very much (she is very credible and has experience!) so I'd never wandered into the world of eggless and dairy free baking, because, one, I gratefully don't have to, and two, if it isn't good, why do it?
 

Because I'm one of those people who will be like, "this is horrible, here, try it!". Mom tells me I need to work on my diplomacy and logic.  Whaaaaat?

I'm not vegan and don't plan on it, but I'm up for trying new things and since this recipe was published in a calendar for all the world to see, I assumed it was safe. So I tried if. Kind of ... 

I really am not a distracted baker. I can usually halve and sub in my head and keep the recipe straight. But I am really bad about following recipes. I didn't change much in this recipe on purpose, but then I accidentally left out a pretty important ingredient.
 

It called for two cups of cold water and two teaspoons of vinegar, so I just mixed these two in a measuring cup and began to add it slowly to the dry ingredients. I had Elizabeth and Abigail and John Caleb all helping (helping is a loose term, I've decided) and I guess I kind if forgot to pour the final 3/4 cup if water/vinegar in. It wasn't on purpose ... Mom was helping clean up the kitchen while I was putting the muffins in the oven and asked if this water was important. 

Um, I got nuffin. 

The batter had been the right texture and had tasted great, so I felt ok about the muffins. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't add the water.  They turned out so fudgy and were packed with tons of chocolate flavor.  They would be a perfect cupcake, except I couldn't figure out dairy free frosting.  So they make the perfect fudgy muffin, a rich chocolate indulgence I may or may not have eaten for breakfast.  You would never guess there are no eggs, no dairy, and practically no fat.  

 

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Muffins
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 18 muffins 

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1-1/4 cup all purpose flour 

1/2 cup cocoa powder 

2 cups sugar 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1-1/4 cups water 

1-1/4 teaspoon distilled white vinegar 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup applesauce 

1/4 cup pumpkin purée (or more applesauce)

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat oven to 350. 

Combine first give ingredients. Set aside. 

Combine remaining ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until combined. 

Pour into 18 lined cupcake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes it until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

 

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Honey Gingerbread Muffins

I haven't made muffins in forever.  I had the same revelation with cookies last week, too.  So cookies and muffins were my top two priorities this week.

These muffins.  Seriously, honest to goodness, best muffins I've had. 

Best peanut butter honey muffins anyways.



But seriously.  These rank high among my muffins.  It is the texture that makes these so good.  They are dense, yet fluffy (don't ask how that works.)  They are soft, but definitely not gooey.  They're sweet, but also heavily spiced.  They're amazing, but also healthy. 

Oh yeah, these have no white flour, no butter or oil, and no refined sugars.  And they are just incredible. 

You definitely taste the peanut butter first.  And then you can taste the honey and as you chew and swallow, the gingerbread spices kick in.  Thanks to the molasses, honey, and spices, these are not lacking in flavor.  I have a thing for peanut butter right now.  I have another recipe coming up that uses peanut butter and honey.  I am all about sweet peanut butter - in everything! :)  And the peanut butter honey combo tastes so good with the gingerbread spices. 

Let's talk texture real quick.  Whole wheat goods often have the reputation for dry and bland.

Not these.

Any good muffin has to have the perfect fluffy, yet sustaining texture and these nailed it.  The peanut butter provides the fat needed to make them moist and the buttermilk adds the slight fluffy factor. 

Can you say no to a healthy and delicious flavor packed muffin?  I sure can't.  Empty muffin tin as evidence.



Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Gingerbread Muffins
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Heather's French Press
Yield: 16 muffins

1 egg

1/2 cup honey

1 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons molasses

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

1-1/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 16 cupcake tins. 

Beat egg and honey together.  Add peanut butter, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, and stir.  Alternate flour and buttermilk, stirring after each addition.  Stir in baking soda.  Divide between lined cupcake tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Apple Pumpkin Maple Muffins

Muffins and quick breads are my comfort food.  Heated up and paired with a hot drink - just perfect.

I broke my mirror a couple says ago. A feat, I know, but in my defense, it was already in sad shape. It's one of those you can tack to the back of a door, but I never did, I just placed it wherever in my room for several years. Then, it fell over a couple days ago and shattered. If glass wasn't so dangerous, I would've left it on the floor because it looked so cool!

But anyways, I no longer had my mirror. No big deal, I thought. But I was surprised how accustomed I had become to using it.  I had gotten so used to checking my clothes or my hair or my appearance every time I walked into my room.  I also realized how often I got my self assurance from making sure I looked okay.  Suddenly, I wasn't sure if my clothes matched or not or if I had a bump in my hair.  At first, it was really annoying.  But it showed how reliant I had become on it ... and that's not something I want.  I realized how accustomed I was to letting the mirror define me. 

I've also become accustomed to using whatever apples are in the apple bowl.  That has changed:)  After using a (expensive) Honeycrisp apple in the caramel apple granola, Mom made sure to get cheaper apples for me to use in my baking. So for these, I used Granny Smiths. 

The first time I made these, they didn't receive many stars. My dad and brothers described them as "just there" and "bread with apples."  They also thought they were a little dry and not sweet enough. I appreciate that they'll tell me that.  It makes my job of posting god recipes easier!  Also, I have enough baking experience to (hopefully) fix whatever wasn't right the first time. I thought they tasted fine, but they weren't stunning. Back to the kitchen. 

I upped the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and apples, and decreased the baking time slightly. These got the double thumbs up. They're full of everything fall; pumpkin, apple, maple syrup. Plus, they have a tender texture and are chock full of finely chopped apples.  Totally my kind of comfort food. And they have 3 grams of fiber and less than 140 calories in each.  I couldn't have asked for more. 

Apple Pumpkin Maple Muffins
Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Recipe adapted from A Kitchen Addiction
Yield: 14-16 muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low fat milk
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups apple, peeled, seeded and finely chopped (about 1-2 medium apples)

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 12 muffin tins and set aside. 
Whisk together the first 9 ingredients.  In another bowl, whisk milk, egg, pumpkin, maple syrup, and molasses together.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Add apples and stir.  Divide between prepared muffin tin.  They will be very full, almost completely.  That's great!  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Related Recipes:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Coconut Oil Maple Syrup Waffles

40 Calorie Chocolate Muffin Cupcakes



Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes



40 Calorie Chocolate Muffin Cupcakes

I think I need to explain a couple things from the title.

First off, what on earth is a muffin cupcakes? 

Well, a muffin tends to carry the stereotype of dry and not very sweet.  A cupcake is supppsed to be moist cake covered in frosting.

This is a cross between the two.

These are incredibly moist and fluffy (the most moist and fluffy muffin/cupcakes ice EVER MADE) but they don't have frosting. So, muffin cupcake. Looks like a muffin, tastes like a (DECADENT) cupcake.

Also, I am not a calorie counter (did that for a while, hated it, and quit.)  But, other people do and they like these kind of recipes.  Win for them, win for me!  You would never guess these have no butter or oil. Never. Somehow, the zucchini shreds disappear while baking and become agents for the lightest, moistest cupcakes.

And let's talk about pumpkin. You may notice I use it way more than applesauce. In my experiences, pumpkin produces fudgier brownies and moister baked goods than applesauce. Although the color is a little more difficult to disguise, it is thicker and I've really liked the texture it has given my recipes. In both of these recipes my family was unaware "Mary Frances's pumpkin (my brothers act as if it is a bad word:)" was in it. 

Between the pumpkin and whole wheat  (fiber boost) and zucchini and applesauce (fruit and veggies) these are wonderful snack options. Or lunch. Good grief, eat them for breakfast - it's really good, I promise. (From experience:)

And they take all of 15 minutes to whip up and then less than 15 more in the oven. That's all the time you need to have a healthy, low cal, and delicious cupcake no one would guess has zucchini or pumpkin in it. 

 

40 Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe Source:  Slightly adapted from Yammie's Noshery
Yield: 24 muffin cupcakes

1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 375º. Grease muffin tin (24 mini)

Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the applesauce, egg, vanilla, and zucchini and mix with a spoon just until combined.

Divide the batter into the baking cups and bake for 11-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.

Thanks to our zucchini plant, I've been using it in everything.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies.  Tied with these.  Much thicker and fudgier than these cupcakes (they ARE brownies!) and the zucchini didn't disappear as completely as in these cupcakes.

Cinnamon and Sugar Zucchini Bread.  So moist and delicious!

Frosted Zucchini Bars.  My brothers and Dad love these.  I think it is the frosting more than anything:)

Carrot Zucchini Bread Pancakes.  My new favorite breakfast! 

Blueberry Lemon Cottage Cheese Muffins

Hello March Madness!  I usually love this time of year.  Don't get me wrong, I am still cheering on my teams, but my teams left . . . are few.  What is up with all these double digit seeds beating the #3 and #4 seeds?  And my Jayhawks?  What a miserable game.  Letting a #16 seed play even with us was plain embarrassing.  But KU won and thats what counts.  They are about the only hope left in my busted bracket.  In case you were wondering, I did actually choose K-State to win their game.  And imagine that, in this rare moment of me wishing them success, they lose. Don't they understand the sacrifice it took for me to pick them?

But I did choose KU to win it all. :)

In our family, whoever wins the brackets gets to pick a meal.  We do the same for football bowl games.  And bragging rights are highly coveted here at our house.  (Can you tell we are sports people?)  Not to brag, but yours truly has gotten to choose many meals in years past.  And if I win again (even with my losing record, I am in second, but my chances of earning more wine are not likely!) these muffins will be on the table.

You know those crazy recipes that yield 8 muffins?  Or 13 servings?  I despise those.  What recipe makes 8 muffins?  People, we operate in dozens.  Oh and then there is 13 . . . I just don't bake with prime numbers!

Today is a recipe that has eight servings.  I know, I am sorry.  It wasn't supposed to be that way, but somehow I ended up with more batter than could fit into 6 muffin cups even after I sampled it a half dozen 13 times to make sure it tasted right.

I had never used cottage cheese in baked goods before.  But I've tried Greek yogurt and sour cream, girl, I use avocado with chocolate, so cottage cheese isn't that much of a stretch.  The light, fresh flavor of lemon is one of my favorites and I've been on a blueberry kick lately, so I decided to combine the two.

The cottage cheese makes these so tender so that the whole wheat's density isn't noticable.  And those blueberries bursting into lemony bread - the perfect balance of tart and sweet. As the girl's were sampling them, all I heard were "Yummm," "That's my crumb!" and "Let's pretend there were only seven, then we can split another."  Devious child  . . . takes after her older sister.

The food processor made this a breeze. Let me restate how much I love that kitchen appliance.  It took my clumpy cottage cheese and whoosh! blended it nice and smooth.  Then I just added my wet ingredients and pressed on!  Done.

Dry ingredients are easy peasy too.  Whisk those flours, salt, soda, and powder together and that bowl's done too.  Really simple, right?

Blueberry Lemon Cottage Cheese Muffins
Recipe Source: Loosely adapted from A Southern Fairy Tale
Yield: 8 muffins

1/2 cup whole wheat flour *
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup cottage cheese (I used low-fat)
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. applesauce
1 egg white
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar
zest from 1 lemon
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (more to press on top of muffins if desired)

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.  In a food processor, cream cottage cheese until smooth.  Add butter, applesauce, egg white, lemon, juice and vanilla.  Mix sugar and zest together and add to cottage cheese mixture.  Cream until smooth.  Pour cottage cheese mixture into dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Add blueberries.  Drop into 8 muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes.

*You can use 1 cup all purpose flour in place of the 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup all purpose.

The zest is the key to that wonderful tart lemon flavor. Mixing it with the sugar gives it the balance of sweet and sour and complements the blueberries beautifully. If you happen to be blessed with leftovers, store in closed container so they stay moist. These are delicious in the morning . . . I'm already looking forward to tomorrows breakfast!

Okay, so you may be thinking, "Those cupcake liners look just like the one's in Chloe's post!"  Ding, ding, ding, you're right!  They are the same liners and my pics from that day of baking and photo shooting are  below.  I really enjoyed the darker wood at their house and how it contrasted with the cream icing.  Oh, and those pearls?  Aren't they UH-DORABLE?  Credit goes to Chloe!  And yes, I am a barabaric toothpick stabber.  I prefer toothpick terror, personally, but all I know is waitresses beware!