Lightened-Up Double Chocolate Muffins {Dairy-Free}

My kitchen has been out of commission for the last few days, which has inevitably led me to rediscover the fact that I'm not at all suited for a desk job. Food blogging basically involves three main things: the actual baking/cooking, the photographing, annnnnd then the computer stuff. It's that last part that gets me every time; it's incredibly hard for me to sit down, focus on a single task, and not get distracted by e-mails/Pinterest/Instagram/any all of the the things that the computer seems to make a priority. You know when you decide to clean instead of opening up your laptop and getting to work that you've reached a new level of avoidance.

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Anyway, all this has very little to do with these muffins other than the fact that they're one of the last things I actually made before the kitchen turned into a construction zone, and because they're healthyish snacking material, I figure there's no time better than now to be sharing them. Also, let's just go ahead and point out the obvious, which is that things have been pretty savory around here lately - "Bright-Eyed Cooker" status - and I feel like the chocolate meter needs to be refilled. (It has been a whole 3 weeks since we did chocolate around here, which is wayyy to long, right?!)

The thing is, I've been trying to practice this "healthy baking" stuff lately since it's January and all, but every single time I go that route I end up craving anything with chocolate... probably because it is SO much easier to cut back on sugar if you can get some dark chocolate in the mix to liven things up. Also, seasonal fruit in January is on the not-so-plentiful side, so all that healthy baking inspiration is just lost on me right now. Eventually I ended up doing what could only be expected and made a healthier version of a double chocolate muffin, because if you need chocolate, might as well make it double chocolate, am I right?

 A while back I made these ultimate, qualifies-as-dessert kinda chocolate muffins, and if you've read that post you'll know that my double chocolate muffin standards are pretty dang high. Believe me, I was skeptical that a healthy version even had a chance of working, but ohhhyesss with good dark cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate, it works indeed. Almond flour helps keep the muffins light, tender, and nevereverever dry (← a MUST), and almond milk moistens things up while keeping the whole thing lighter in calories and dairy-free. I threw in a little bit of almond extract just to keep things interesting, and then all those melting chunks of dark chocolate to really bring the indulgence factor - without the guilt! And the best part? These were totally devoured without anyone ever asking me if they were a healthier version; I'm pretty sure that's when you know you're onto something good. :)

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Lightened-Up Double Chocolate Muffins {Dairy-Free}

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Light and tender double chocolate muffins that still taste like a treat, but without the guilt!

• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 18 minutes
• Yield: 12 muffins
• : Alexandra Azary

Ingredients

• 4 ¼ ounces (1 cup, spoon and level) whole wheat pastry flour
• 4 ounces (1 cup) almond flour
• 1 ¾ ounces (½ cup) dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 ¾ ounces (½ cup packed) brown sugar
• 2 ounces (¼ cup) unrefined coconut oil, melted and briefly cooled
• 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
• 6 ⅜ ounces (¾ cup) almond milk*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 7 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate, divided**

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, almond flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil and brown sugar to combine. Beat in the whole egg and egg white one at a time, until smoothly incorporated. Beat in the almond milk and extracts until smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold in just until evenly incorporated. Fold in 5 ½ ounces of chopped chocolate to disperse in the batter.
5. Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups and smooth tops as needed. Sprinkle tops with the remaining 1 ½ ounces chocolate.
6. Bake muffins in preheated oven for 10 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350ºF and bake another 5- 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs; be careful not to overbake.
7. Cool muffins in pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

*I used Silk Original Almond Milk, but feel free to use what you have on hand.

**Use dairy-free chocolate to keep the muffins dairy-free.

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