Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I really did just say that this post is titled "Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins." And I will also tell you that they are fabulous. Moist and delicious and (according to my husband) they only taste "slightly" healthy. But guess what? They are healthy!

I had a friend ask me recently what I do about dessert. How do I manage to say no to all of the deliciousness in this world? I told her that I don't cut out dessert. But when you can find things that you can eat for dessert that leave you feeling better afterwards instead of worse, when you can find things that you can eat that are good for you and don't make you feel guilty - THAT is the kind of dessert I want! And these muffins fit into that category.

I am not sure how this girl got her muffins to look so pretty. Mine were not nearly as pretty looking as hers. But they tasted delicious. I used 1/4 cup stevia and 1 Tbsp honey as my sweetener. They tasted like a pretty rich and dark chocolate. If you used agave nectar or only honey then I think that they would taste like a lighter chocolate. I love dark chocolate and so this was right up my alley.

I would ABSOLUTELY suggest that you follow her suggestions for the chocolate chips. Don't add them all at once - they sink to the bottom of the bowl really fast. Adding them to the top later gives you an excellent distribution of the chocolate chips. What this meant for mine was that there was the infusion of the semi-sweet chocolate chips with each decadently moist bite of rich dark chocolate muffin. Yum yum yum!

I will be repeating this recipe in my house for SURE! Try it and see if you like it as well!

This recipe and picture are courtesy of some girl who posted on Tumblr from the Netherlands. :-) If you would like to see her original post you can visit this link here: http://healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com/post/6583755120/lessthan300kcal-triple-chocolate-chunk-muffin

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK MUFFIN 

Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins

From Tumblr

•  1 3/4 c oats
•  3 egg whites
•  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar) (I used the vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia (I used ¼ cup stevia and 1 Tbsp honey)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (I am wondering if following these directions exactly is the reason my muffins didn't "fluff" as much as hers... I think next time I will mix together all of the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately before blending them in my blender.)

Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.

Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

Place  the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!

Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!

Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per Muffin or 58 Calories Per Muffin