Lightened up double chocolate muffins are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth without feeling guilty in the morning.
Sometimes regular chocolate chip muffins are the greatest. They're a classic, and with excellent reason! But when you're looking for something doubly as delicious and chocolaty but not so heavy on the calories, try out these lightened up double chocolate muffins.
By doing a full swap of applesauce for the oil in the original recipe, the entire batch is 432 calories lower without sacrificing that chocolaty flavor you sometimes need. That 36 calories saved per muffin doesn't seem like a lot, unless you're going to scarf down at least two or three of them in a sitting. (Who does that?!...oh, right.)
These muffins are perfectly chocolaty, studded with mini chocolate chips throughout the batter so each muffin packs a perfect punch of satisfying chocolate flavor with less guilt. Are these considered health food? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. Do I consider them to be a healthier alternative? You bet!
When you crave dessert as frequently as I do, you will find ways to reduce the guilt on things you find yourself baking. This sweet tooth never sleeps, so I'll lighten up traditionally calorie dense recipes where I can, as long as the intended flavor isn't altered too much. See: chocolate chip cookie dough froyo, healthier banana bread, and lightened up chocolate chip cookies.
These muffins are sweet enough to be passable as a dessert, but light enough to warrant eating before noon with a cold glass of milk when you don't feel like cooking breakfast. Don't worry, I won't judge. "Quality control" said these were best eaten warm, preferably straight from the oven. Aka I couldn't wait to taste test one and burned my mouth on a hot muffin.
In the event that you have some semblance of self control, these muffins keep well in a sealed baggie or container for up to 3 days. Warm one (or two) up in the microwave when a chocolate craving hits and I can bet you'll be fooled into thinking these muffins are just chocolate cupcakes without frosting!
These muffins are sweet enough to be passable as a dessert, but light enough to warrant eating before noon with a cold glass of milk when you don't feel like cooking breakfast. Don't worry, I won't judge. "Quality control" said these were best eaten warm, preferably straight from the oven. Aka I couldn't wait to taste test one and burned my mouth on a hot muffin. In the event that you have some semblance of self control, these muffins keep well in a sealed baggie or container for up to 3 days. Warm one (or two) up in the microwave when a chocolate craving hits and I can bet you'll be fooled into thinking these muffins are just chocolate cupcakes without frosting!
Lightened Up Double Chocolate Muffins
These muffins are sweet enough to be passable as a dessert, but light enough to warrant eating before noon with a cold glass of milk when you don't feel like cooking breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Grease twelve 2.5 inch muffin cups or line with paper baking cups; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate pieces. Make well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together applesauce, milk, and egg. Add mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each ⅔ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are firm.
- Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
This recipe was adapted from the 16th edition Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (page 122!)
Angela Howland
In the ingredient list you don’t have Salt listed, but in the instructions it says to add salt along with all the dry ingredients, but how much?
Jessica
Hi, Angela! Thanks for catching that - it's 1/2 teaspoon of salt.