PALEO CHOCOLATE LOVE MUFFINS RECIPE

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Recipe

What is the most significant term of endearment in the entire world? Love Muffin. As in, “You’re the sweetest Love Muffin in the entire world”. At least, that’s what I say to my dog nearly every time I speak to him, and maybe I’ll say it once in a blue moon to my husband. Point being, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and of course although I wouldn’t make my dog anything containing chocolate, I would make these to share with all the other sweeties in my life, including my husband.

My husband is the kind of guy who when I make muffins for him, if he realizes that they don’t contain any chocolate, there will be a brief flash of disappointment go across his face before he can hide it. He will then happily eat whatever blueberry or carrot muffin I may have made, but deep down all he really wants is chocolate. So because I want him to feel just as loved as my dog is, I’ve created this simple chocolate love muffin recipe that will leave no traces of disappointment. I even added chocolate chips to the recipe, because twice as much chocolate equals twice as much love (at least that’s how my husband feels).

These muffins are:

• Paleo
• Grain-Free
• Gluten-Free
• Refined Sugar-Free
• Quick + easy to make

My favourite way to make muffins is to just throw all the ingredients in either a strong blender or food processor, and then pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups. That way they’re fast and easy to throw together and there are less dirty dishes to deal with. I made these by blending all of the wet and liquid ingredients together first, then added in the dry ingredients, and blended it all together while occasionally pausing to scrape down the sides of the container so that everything blended together smoothly.

Of course, you can always make this entire process even more simpler, by just grabbing a box of Simple Mills Chocolate Muffin & Cake Mix here.

PALEO CHOCOLATE LOVE MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

Makes 11-12 Muffins

4 eggs, room temperature (if they aren’t room temperature, just cover them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes to quickly remove the chill from them)

½ cup melted and cooled coconut oil

⅓ cup maple syrup

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 cup almond meal

½ cup tapioca or arrowroot flour (I used tapioca in these)

⅓ cup cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup chocolate chips, with extra to sprinkle on top of muffins

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and prep your muffin tin by lining it with muffin liners.
2. In a powerful blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec) or a food processor, combine the first four ingredients (all the liquid ingredients).
3. Once combined, add in the remaining ingredients (all the dry ingredients) and blend together until smooth. You may have to stop a few times while blending to scrape down the sides of the container to make sure everything is combining well.
4. Once the batter is nice and smooth, stir in the chocolate chips by hand (don’t blend them!).
5. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling the muffin liners about ¾ of the way full. I made 11 large muffins when I first made these, however I probably could have made a dozen regular sized muffins if I had poured just a little less batter into each liner.
6. Top the muffins with your extra chocolate chips, and then bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Check on your muffins though after about 25 minutes as everyone’s ovens are different - I find that I typically have to add a few extra minutes baking time to whatever recipe I’m using.
7. Let cool and then enjoy!

Nutrition (per muffin)

Calories: 149, Total Fat: 9.1g, Saturated fat: 3.5g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 182mg, Net Carbs: 12.4g, Carbohydrates: 14.3g, Fiber: 1.9g, Sugar: 9.4g, Protein: 4.5g, Vitamin D: 5mcg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 1mg, Potassium: 183mg