So it’s December and I’m so happy to be back to making muffins. After taking a month’s hiatus from Muffin Mondays I realized that I missed having moist, freshly baked muffins in my home every week. I also realized that while I decided to take a break for the month of November, that’s when An decided to assign the most deliciously decadent muffins after a few weeks of healthy choices. However, the decadence continues for the month of December.
For my first week back in action, we were assigned a chocolate brownie muffin. Just the name alone makes me want to dive right in. As I was baking these muffins I determined the name was perfect for them because my entire house smelled like I was baking brownies. These muffins are moist and delectable due to a triple hit of chocolate. Inside you’ll find cocoa, chocolate chips and one of my very favorite things in the world… Nutella! What’s not to like?
The original recipe called for pistachios but I didn’t have any on hand although I think the added crunchy texture and saltiness would have been a great compliment to the chocolate. Instead I decided to add some cranberries and a little orange zest. I actually wish the tart flavor of the cranberries had come through a bit more in these muffins but the chocolate won out. They were still incredibly good and I’m sure they won’t last long in our house.
Enjoy!
~K
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Chocolate Cranberry Brownie Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup caster sugar
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries, such as Craisins
Zest of 1 orange
– Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
– In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, and sugar.
– Add in the butter, egg, milk, sour cream and Nutella. Gently combine.
– Fold in the chocolate chips, cranberries and orange zest.
– Fill 12 muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes.
– Enjoy!
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
beautiful flavour combinations! You are absolutely right about the house smelling like brownies. I am sure my neighbours might have been tempted too with the aroma wafting in the hallway as well.
Thanks Anita!
Hey K! So glad to have you back with us! Hope the baby is doing well. Your muffins look absolutely delicious. I loved the fact that these muffins had a cracked surface like brownies and were completely gooey inside.
Thank An! I’m so happy to be back 🙂
What a great recipe to welcome you back to the group! 🙂 Definitely had a wonderful aroma while baking.
Yes indeed, Carrie! These muffins smelled soooo amazing while they were baking. I couldn’t wait for them to come out of the oven
These look super yummy, oh my!
I’m a bit of a muffin addict, and these are going on my must-make list. 🙂
Hope all is well in your beautiful world 🙂
You’re so sweet, Nicole! Thanks and hope all is well with you too.
Mmmmm. Chocolate and cranberry! That’s a gorgeous combination! I also thought these were perfectly named. I’ll definitely be making them again! Have a great week!
Hope you’re having a great week too, Aimee! These may have been my favorite muffins so far. SOOO good!
Your muffins look like they turned out FABULOUSLY! Love the added flavour of cranberries and orange zest. Yum!
Thanks! I thought the flavors would all combine really well and they did!
cranberries and orange are such a great addition! perfect winter flavors!
I love cranberry and orange together as well as chocolate/orange and cranberry/chocolate so I thought it would be a nice combo of all three!
Those look amazing!
Thanks Sarah!
Sinful flavor combo- love it!
Thanks! They tasted really fantastic
Can I substitute something else with the nutella? We can’t have nuts here 🙁
I would replace the Nutella with SunButter for a nut-free option! With the cocoa powder and chocolate chips you will still have plenty of chocolate flavor going on in these muffins and I bet the SunButter will add another amazing level of flavor. Please do come back and let me know how it works out for you!
Awesome! Thanks. I will let you know how they turn out 🙂