Double Chocolate Bakeshop Muffins

My breakfasts during the week are usually FiberOne bars, or something equally grab-and-go. On the weekends, I like to indulge a bit more on the most important meal of the day.

Last Saturday, I had some time to kill but was really in the mood for muffins. Brooke inspired me to buy Small-Batch Baking, and everytime time I use it, I am grateful to her all over again. I pulled it out but all of the ones that REALLY caught my eye required ingredients that I didn't have. So... I went for the chocolate!

(This is an awful picture. I was in a rush and didn't play with it enough to try to get a better one!)



Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter, at room temp, for greasing the muffin cups
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons nonfat buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 medium egg
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I ran out, so I used white chocolate.)

Also need - 1 jumbo muffin pan (see "note" at the bottom for adaptations for a regular tin.)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease only the bottoms of the muffin cups; then rub a little of the butter around the rim of each cup. (This will help them to form a rounded top.)

2. Place the melted better, buttermilk, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Set the mixture aside.

3. Place a large fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Place the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the sieve, and sift the ingredients into the bowl. Toss in the chocolate chips. Add the buttermilk mixture all at once and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing equally; they should be about three quarters full. Fill the empty muffin cups halfway with water to prevent scorching.

4. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully pour the water out of the empty cups. Turn the muffins out of the cups and let them cool, upright, on the wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. (They are best eaten the day they are baked but will keep for up to 1 day in a plastic bag at room temperature.)

Note: To make regular-size muffins, bake as directed about 15-18 minutes.

Yields: 2 jumbo muffins, or 4 standard muffins