Gluten Free Mocha Chip Muffins

The holiday season has me craving chocolate like crazy! And what goes better with chocolate than coffee? I am a mocha lover 110%.

Whenever I have an insatiable chocolate craving, I turn to this book…

It was a fortuitous sale find nearly ten years ago, and has graced my recipe book stack ever since. It has dozens of gorgeous, mouthwatering photos and recipes and every single one uses chocolate! (Plus, it came with a cool CD.) I always love using it as my inspiration when my baking thoughts turn chocolatey.

Today I knew I wanted something with coffee and chocolate…something quick and easy…and something that did not require a special shopping trip for extra ingredients.  A mocha muffin recipe immediately caught my eye. The idea of mixing cocoa with raw  sugar as a muffin topping had never occurred to me, and I absolutely love it! Long story short, I made several substitutions to make these delicious, craving-worthy muffins gluten free, low in caffeine (for safe late-night snacking!) and super easy!

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 c. melted butter or margarine
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. gluten free all-purpose flour (I love Bob’s Red Mill)
3tsp. baking powder
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. half-caffeinated, brewed and cooled coffee
2/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

1/4 c. raw sugar
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease (or line with muffin cups) one 12-cup muffin tin. Mix the melted butter and sugar and beaten eggs in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar and butter mixture gently. Add the milk, coffee and chocolate chips. Stir well until just combined. The batter might be a bit lumpy, which is okay!

Prepare the topping by mixing the tablespoon of cocoa powder with the raw sugar in a small bowl. If the mixture’s a little clumpy, that’s okay. It turns out looking so pretty with the bigger chunks of cocoa! 🙂

Pour the muffin batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups – about 3/4 full in each cup. Sprinkle a generous teaspoon of the muffin topping over every muffin. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before devouring! 😀

A little glass of milk + one of these = chocolate craving satisfaction!! ❤

I can’t wait to try one in the morning with a cup of coffee…

 

 

❤