Double Chocolate Muffins

     One of my most recent endeavors is to open an in-home daycare. So far I can only have one family, along with my daughter, until all my licensing can go through. So I still have quite a bit of time to spend in the kitchen while they are all napping. The funny part is these kids have learned that I love rot bake and have started to request various treats during the day. One thing that they request the most (second only to pancakes) is muffins! Of course, about once a week I break down and bake them whatever flavor they want. The most popular ones are chocolate chip, banana, and, of course, chocolate. Other than banana, these are pretty basic flavors. So, when one of them asked for chocolate muffins a few weeks ago, I was shocked to discover I didn't even have a recipe for that yet! I couldn't believe it and even went to my blog to double check I hadn't even posted a recipe here. Of course, there wasn't! I quick got to developing a new recipe by modifying one of my other muffin recipes to create this absolutely amazing double chocolate muffin. 

    To make my muffins, I start by mixing together all of my wet ingredients. These are oil (any neutral oil works), sugar (I know it's not wet but this is when it works best), eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Once these are all mixed together smoothly, I sift in my flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. I also add in my salt before I use a rubber spatula or my stand mixer to fold everything together. Before all of the dry streaks are gone, I add in my chocolate chips and finish mixing until they are well dispersed and there are no more dry streaks. 

    By the time I am done mixing my batter, I usually remember to preheat my oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit before I pull out my muffin tin and start lining it. I like to fill my liners to the very top to create a pretty dome shape on each muffin. Each size of muffin needs a slightly modified time but I use a base of 15-20 minutes for my regular ones. If I am making mini muffins I take about five minutes of of that time and for the jumbo ones I add up to ten. Because these are so dark, it is harder to tell when they are done compared to most muffins. I like to use two methods to gauge their doneness. The first one is just wiggling the pans. If the tops move a little, suggesting the muffins are still a little raw, I leave them in for a few more minutes. The other thing I like to do is poke a toothpick into the middle of one of the muffins and see what it looks like when I pull it out. If it has batter on it it isn't done, if it has a few crumbs they're perfect, but if it comes out totally clean they might be a little overbaked and dry. You have to be careful with these muffins though because they have chocolate chips. So, make sure if the toothpick comes out brown, you can tell if it's batter or just chocolate. 

    Once my muffins are done, I pull them out of the oven to cool. I prefer to eat them while they're still a little warm and the chocolate chips are melty, but they can keep for several days covered at room temperature or even longer in a container in the refrigerator. One batch of these can usually last the kids and me most of the week, considering we usually only are allowed one a day, and they are just as good on day four as they are on day one! However, they tend to disappear pretty quick once my husband discovers where I am keeping them because they have quickly turned into his favorite muffin too. 

    What did you think of this recipe? Use the comment section below!