Mocha Muffins

Ah, just what Sunday needed – a muffin to go with a mocha. They needed to be filling for breakfast but not so sweet they competed with the latte. I found a recipe with coffee and chocolate flavors that complemented the caffeinated beverage and satisfied my hunger. They are best served warm so the chocolate is slightly melted and the coffee flavor shines.

They were already vegan because sometimes I am too lazy to figure out those substitutions before brunch. I made adjustments for altitude by adding more milk and reducing the baking powder. I also lowered the temperature to slow the rise and, oddly enough, they baked just fine at the same cooking time. To give a nod to healthy, I swapped some of the white flour with whole wheat. Also, because I ran out of chocolate chips, I made my own chunks by chopping up a dark chocolate bar. I recommend you always have dark chocolate on hand, then you can make chunks if you haven’t already snacked on the whole bar.

Mocha Muffins adapted from Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
3/4 cup + 1 TBS plain dairy-free milk
2 TBS canola oil
2 TBS plain dairy-free yogurt
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup + 3 TBS vegan sugar
2 tsp instant espresso granules
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with 11 paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together milk, oil, yogurt, vinegar, and vanilla. Let sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. In another bowl, whisk remaining ingredients well. Add wet ingredients and stir until just evenly mixed.
Spoon batter evenly among muffin cups so that each is half full. Bake for 14-16 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin.

Until next time, happy baking!