Muffins are back. Make these chocolate morning muffins
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I love when people are down with chocolate for breakfast. It’s a defiant move that contradicts our puritan prejudice against indulgence early in the morning. And one must wonder, is chocolate all that bad? I’ve hung out with enough marathoners to know that the answer is no. After all, cacao is a powerful superfood that pairs naturally with both coffee and tea. The trick lies in combining it with other nutrient-dense ingredients. Case in point: these muffins. With Dutch-processed cocoa, dark chocolate, yogurt and rye flour, they’re intensely chocolaty but not overly sweet.
The head baker and co-owner of Friends & Family makes chocolate morning muffins, a recipe from her new cookbook “Morning Baker.”
I toss in a handful of chocolate chips, but feel free to omit them — the muffins will be just as delicious. Never skip the step of dissolving the cocoa powder in boiling water before adding it to the batter, which is also known as “blooming.” Blooming is the best way to thoroughly dissolve the powder and further enhance its chocolaty flavor. Make sure to use a tangy, full-fat yogurt such as Greek yogurt or skyr — it will reach with the cocoa powder to create an assertive yet balanced muffin that remains moist long after baking.
Rye’s woody, earthy flavor pairs beautifully with chocolate’s bold intensity, making it the obvious flour choice here.
This recipe results in a moist, rich muffin that stays soft for a couple of days. I like to pop one in the oven or microwave to turn it soft and gooey.
Roxana Jullapat left behind a career as a fine-dining pastry chef to open Friends & Family bakery. Her new cookbook, “Morning Baker,” pays tribute to the life flip.
Chocolate Morning Muffins
Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the boiling water with the cocoa powder, whisking vigorously until smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
Sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Using your hands, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Put the chocolate chips and oil in a medium heatproof bowl. Fill a medium pot a quarter of the way with water and place over low heat. When the water is barely simmering, fit the bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the simmering water. Stir occasionally with a heat-resistant spatula until the chocolate is completely melted.
Remove the bowl from the heat. Whisk in the cooled cocoa mixture, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and sugar until fully incorporated. Pour the liquid ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients and whisk slowly from the center out to draw the dry ingredients into the liquids. Then whisk vigorously to ensure the batter is well combined. Fold in the additional chocolate chips, if using.
Coat a muffin tin lightly with nonstick spray.
Evenly distribute the muffin batter, filling each cup almost all the way to the top. Bake for 10 minutes. Then rotate the tin and bake for 10 to 12 minutes more, until a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Let the muffins sit until cool enough to handle. Carefully release the muffins from the tin, running an offset spatula or a paring knife along the edges if necessary. Serve at room temperature. The muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
