Mom, can you make this??
…and chocolate, chocolate chip muffins
Ooh aren’t those fun words?? “Mom, can you make this?” (Well, maybe not for everyone, but I do love a good food challenge.)
It’s happened many times, we’re eating out, or at a friend’s, and James (the Kiddo), gets his plate, takes a bite, and immediately starts asking if this is something I can make at home. I’ll for sure give it the good ol’ college try.
Working to “copy-cat” something is one of my favorite hobbies. Most of the time I’ll snap a quick picture with my phone so I can remember what’s in the dish, sometimes I go as far to jot a few things down in my notes app. (Bonus, when I’m struggling to think of dinner ideas I can scroll through my phone to remind myself of things I wanted to try!)
The most recent requests include black forest cake (still trying to find time for that one - looks like a project), schnitzel with a fried egg on top (easy peasy, we can do that!), and pasta with tomato sauce and an entire ball of burrata on top (we’ve actually done that before, he just doesn’t remember).
And my latest actual copy is of an avocado hummus plate we got at a café while traveling.
We all think I got it pretty spot on. Recipe for the avocado hummus plate coming to you in the next couple of weeks!
This week’s recipe (below) for Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Muffins is another one of those “can we make these at home” requests. Found on a hotel breakfast bar, they were immediately a hit, and we had to make more. (Also, what is it about a hotel breakfast bar that is the best part of the trip for a kid?? Okay, and maybe some adults…)
When I set out to make my own chocolate chip muffins, my first thought was remembering way back to middle school when I would eat an Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate muffin and a red slushie for lunch every day. (Yikes, way to go on the healthy choices there.) But, I know most chocolate muffins seem to lean toward just eating a cupcake for breakfast, and I wanted mine to be more muffin-like. If that was even do-able.
Great news, it is!
I started with one of my favorite muffin recipes - Deb Perelman’s (of Smitten Kitchen) Perfect Blueberry Muffins - as a base. It’s a muffin with great texture and flavor, and made the perfect jumping off point. I love that this recipe makes a manageable amount of muffins, and I love that she taught me they can be made all in one bowl, You don’t have to fuss with separate wet and dry ingredients.
Then, I made a few changes. 1 - I swapped oil in for melted butter because I wanted them to stay moist, and oil actually makes a fluffier muffin. 2 - I used a whole cup of greek yogurt, adding protein, and again helping with moistness, but also to cut through the one-note sweetness chocolate can bring. And 3 - I added both cocoa powder and chocolate chips for the double chocolate effect.
Now for the expert taste test! He liked them; they were good. They were almost great, but he said they were a little dry. ‘Scuze me, what? Then he says, “I dunno, maybe add just a little milk.” So I did. And wouldn’t you know, my 14 year-old kid got it right! (Proud mom moment!) Now, these muffins are spectacular! They are tall, and light, and fluffy with just the right amount of chocolate base flavor and pops of richer chocolate chips, and they stayed moist through the three days we had them for breakfast.
A couple of muffin thoughts before we move on to recipes and meal plans -
Want to add nuts? Do it! Maybe stir in a half cup of chopped pecans or walnuts. Want to change some of the semi-sweet chips to dark chocolate? I love that idea!
These are so easy to stir together, they make a great cooking with kids project - get them involved!
I love, love these tall, bakery-style muffin liners. They keep your muffins from getting that mushroom effect at the top, and instead just grow taller. Impressive muffins indeed!
Did you know you can freeze muffin batter? Just fill your paper liners, put the whole pan in the freezer until the batter is frozen, then store the unbaked muffins in a freezer container. When you want a couple muffins, just pop them back in the muffin pan and bake as directed! (Might have to add a couple minutes.) Muffins on demand is the way to go.
Okay, that’s it for today. Go make muffins! We ate our last two this morning, so I guess I’ll be doing the same.
MONDAY - Meatballs and Pasta
We haven’t had my Creamy Tomato Orzo with Turkey Meatballs in a while, so let’s get that back in the rotation! The meatballs can be made ahead to speed along a weeknight dinner that otherwise is all in one pan.
TUESDAY - Focaccia Pizza
I’ll take my 48-hour focaccia bread and make it as the bigger, thinner version on a sheet pan so we can top it with tomato sauce, pepperoni, diced ham, onions, peppers, and olives. Our version of “the works”.
WEDNESDAY - Pork Roast with Broccoli and Carrots, Baked Potatoes
I thought I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer, but it turns out it was a larger pork loin roast. No worries, I’ll just start the roast first, then scatter broccoli florets and carrot sticks around it about halfway through. The potatoes can bake in the oven at the same time.
THURSDAY - Salad Night
The Tennessee summer is heating up - temps might be close to 90 by the end of this week! So, cold dinner it is! Cheese tortellini help make an Italian pasta salad a little more filling, and then I’ll also do a simple green salad (or maybe a wedge…) and fresh fruit cups.
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick Up!
SATURDAY - Dinner at Yaya’s (the in-laws)!
Pot roast and corn bread, a good Southern dinner! The roast can be put on early, low and slow, and then just finished by thickening the gravy and making the cornbread. (She makes the best cornbread!)
SUNDAY - Easy Dinner at Home
Dad’s out of town, so we’ll spend a quiet Sunday night at home. We should have plenty of leftovers from this week, and if not, I have a chicken and rice casserole stashed in the freezer.
LUNCHES for this week -
I made some Veggie Beef soup for my father-in-law for Father’s Day since it’s one of his favorites, but I was smart enough to keep a quart for myself! Dad also sent us home with leftover bratwursts and fried potatoes from Sunday’s dinner, so I have lunch covered without having to think about it too much.
EXTRAS for this week
First, I’m going to make a batch of muesli to have with yogurt and fruit for breakfast. Then, I have ideas and things I’m testing - a fresh corn pasta, spiced bulgur wheat to use as a grain in salads, my mom’s cherry pie…hoping things come out and I have recipes to share soon. Good things come to those who wait!
Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins
· ½ cup Vegetable Oil (or other neutral oil)
· ½ cup White Sugar
· 1 large Egg
· 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt
· 2 tablespoons Milk
· ½ teaspoon Vanilla
· 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
· ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
· ¼ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder (I use Hershey’s Dark or a Dutch Process Cocoa)
· 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
· 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 375 with the rack in the middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. (If you have the tall, bakery-style liners, only make 10 muffins. For regular liners, do all 12. Or, alternately, don’t use liners and coat the pan in non-stick spray.)
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, and egg until light in color, thick, and smooth – about 1 minute.
Whisk in yogurt, milk, and vanilla until well combined. Add in baking powder, baking soda, and salt mixing well. Stir in cocoa powder.
Change to a rubber spatula and fold in the flour until it is almost all mixed in, then add the chocolate chips and continue folding until chocolate chips are evenly distributed.
Spoon the muffin batter evenly into the 10 or 12 muffin cups (see above) and bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out with just a few crumbs.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and continue cooling at least another 10 minutes.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
All recipes categorized by type can be found in the index!