It’s only the tenth of November and already this month has been crazy busy. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Papers are being written, research is getting done, and the fourth issue of Bending Light Magazine was published. In between all that I’ve been collecting survey data about bloggers (aka you. Have you taken my super quick questionnaire? Hint. Hint.) and yes, baking. On the main dish side: quiche and ‘couscous bin basal wa sheeb.’ On the dessert side: chocolate mousse, almond cookies and chocolate chip muffins. Yum!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I’m cooking I wax philosophical, if only for a few moments. For instance this afternoon, when I was whipping up a batch of the lovely muffins you see below. “These muffins are an excellent metaphor for my relationship with my husband,” I mused. “Because I love muffins more than cookies, while he’s just the opposite, but these are a muffin/chocolate chip cookie combo! That’s called compromise, which is an important part of any relationship.” … See what I mean? Complete philosophical silliness. Unless, of course, thinking about muffins this way means I get to make them more often.

The first time I made these they were so delicious that I had to send the bulk of them to my husband’s office before I ate six in one sitting. His co-workers absolutely loved them, they even stopped people walking past their section by shouting “Hey! You have to try these muffins!” This time these chocolatey goodies came out just as good - but seeing as it’s Friday, we’re going to have to bite the bullet by eating them all ourselves. No sense leaving them around until Monday right? Because then they wouldn’t be as fresh, which means they wouldn’t taste as great, which means they’d probably be thrown away - and that’s just wrong. Therefore, it’s our ethical duty to eat them all. We’re taking a stand against wastefulness.

Ahem.

The best time to eat these muffins is when they’re fresh out of the oven and the chocolate chips inside have slightly melted into gooey perfection. I’ve also included instructions for a chocolate chip coffee cake variation. Have fun!

Chocolate Chip Muffins
Bakeware: Regular sized muffin tin
Makes: 12 regular or 6 jumbo muffins

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons sweetened shredded coconut (optional, but really, really good if you use it.)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 extra large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F with the rack in the center position. Butter the cups of your muffin tin. (PAM also has a new butter + flour spray that is great when baking sweets.)

To prepare the topping, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, light brown sugar, cocoa powder, and pecans and coconut, if using. Add the butter and mash with a fork or use your fingers, so that the butter is well distributed. Set aside.

For the muffins, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat them until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (Don’t rush, your batter will be so airy and light if you take your time.) Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the vanilla, then half the flour mixture. When that is combined, add half the sour cream. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and sour cream. Mix in the chocolate chips, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin. Add about 1 tablespoon of topping on each muffin, pushing the topping gently onto the surface of the batter. (You may have some topping left over if you used the coconut.) Bake regular sized muffins for 20 to 22 minutes, until they have risen nicely and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Jumbo muffins will bake in 28 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in the tins for 5 minutes, then either serve them warm while the chocolate chips are still gooey, or remove them to a wire rack to cool.

Variation: To make Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, butter and flour a 9 1/2 inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the topping without the coconut. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, add the topping and bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in its pan, then remove the sides of the pan and serve, preferably while the cake is still warm.

This recipe is from: Chocolate American Style by Lora Brody. It is one of my all time favorite baking books and an absolute must for chocolate lovers.

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