Chocolate Mocha Muffins

Makes about 12 medium sized muffins + 2 mini springform pans.

Rich, dark, moist and not too sweet. Has a slightly different flavor from just chocolate-coffee. You can taste a hint of the dried fruit and brown sugar. A coworker who's a chocoholic said it was the perfect blend of chocolate and sweetness.

Ingredients

1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp instant decaffeinated coffee (I use Folgers)
about 2 oz softened prunes. (If yours aren't soft, put 8-10 prunes in a mug, cover with water, nuke on medium for 1-2 minutes until soft and plump.)
1/2 cup buttermilk (can substitute milk, a couple tbsp sour cream, + about 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (turbinado if you want the flavor to come through slightly, golden brown if not)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (milk chocolate is better for this recipe since the muffin itself is not too sweet)
(optional) 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 4 oz), toasted. Note that toasting your own nuts makes a big difference. I don't think nuts are worth putting in unless they're freshly toasted into tender-crisp rich morsels.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degF. Line 12 muffin tin with paper muffin liners (or grease). Grease the mini springforms (or whatever you're using for the overflow).

In a cup, dissolve instant coffee in hot water. In a blender, combine the liquid coffee, prunes, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Blend until well mixed and prunes are completely disintegrated.

Mix both flours, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until well mixed. Add liquid mixture and stir until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts if using.

Fill muffin cups almost full, put excess in prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool.

References: This recipe is adapted from the Mocha Muffins with Chocolate Chips and Pecans on Epicurious.com (Bon Appetit, Apr 1995.) That one was pretty good, but was a bit too dry for me. This version is also lower sodium.

Note: We first made the original version in Oct 2005. The moist rich version here was pioneered in August 2006.

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