Dark Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

Full of dark chocolate and dried cranberries, these muffins taste indulgent– but they’re secretly healthy!

My general goal is to make things that taste like dessert, but that are healthy enough to eat for breakfast. Sweet and chocolaty, but made without butter or oil and with a refined sugar-free option, these muffins certainly fit the bill. That might be why my own personal serving size is usually three per sitting. 🙂

A quick note about the chocolate: I love ALL the chocolate, but dark– the darker the better!– is my favorite. If you’re not as much of a fan, these muffins taste just as good with regular cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

• Difficulty: easy
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Yield: 12-14 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour of choice (I used white whole wheat)
• ½ cup brown sugar or granulated sweetener of choice
• ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder*
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk of choice (I used almond)
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips*
• ½ cup dried cranberries

*feel free to substitute with regular cocoa/chocolate chips if preferred

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sweetener, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the milk and applesauce and stir until just combined.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and cranberries.
5. Divide evenly into muffin tin and bake 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These muffins are vegan with the appropriate milk and chocolate chips.