Chocolate Brownie Yogurt Muffins

I made these muffins with my niece Chloe when she was at my house one afternoon. I don't get spend a lot of time with her and I know that she has been wanting to come by and cook or bake with me, so we decided to make muffins.

I have to tell you, we ended up making 2 types of muffins. The first batch of muffins were Chai Chocolate Chip muffins (recipe in a few days). They usually contain almonds but because Chloe is allergic to nuts, I left them out until she gently pointed out that I used almond milk instead of cows milk. Oh Man! I can't believe I did that! I thought I was so careful. Thank goodness she noticed. Sweet kid!

So we decided to make these Chocolate Brownie Yogurt Muffins (no nuts, I promise). I got this recipe from a quinoa cookbook that I have, although I made many alterations. First of all, I didn't have quinoa flour- I used regular all purpose. Second, I didn't have sour cream- I used Greek yogurt and third, I didn't include the toasted nuts, for obdvious reasons. But I have to say, even with all the changes I made, they turned out pretty good. They're not too sweet because of the cocoa powder and they are really moist because of the yogurt. Pretty impressive. The kids and the adults liked them. I will definitely make them again!

My guest photographer for this post is Chloe LeBlanc. She's got a great eye!

Chocolate Brownie Yogurt Muffins
(loosely adapted from Quinoa Revolution by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup, unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Place paper liners in a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar until combined. Stir in the yogurt, milk, grape seed oil, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and stir until combined.. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pan.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean.

m xo

Loaded with Chips, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every year in April, the staff and everyone at The Wild Strawberry Salon raises money for WaterCan in honour of Earth month. WaterCan is a charity that provides clean drinking water for the world's poorest people. We take pride in doing this by raffling tickets for great prizes that are donated to us and having bake sales. So this year to kick start the campaign, I thought I would make chocolate chip cookies because who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?

This is one of my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipes ever. I have been making them for years. It's my go-to recipe. They're easy to make, loaded with chocolate chips, not too hard, not too soft and you can use any nut you like. I like walnuts. You can also omit them.

They are from a cookbook I've had on my book shelf for many years called "Cookies Unlimited" by Nick Malgieri, who I used to love watching on the Food Network when it first aired many years ago. I've made quite a few of the recipes in this book and they have always turned out great and I can't say that about many other cookbook recipes that I have tried.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(recipe by Nick Malgieri from "Cookies Unlimited)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup nuts, coursley chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 375F.
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda; mix well.
In a bowl of standing mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars until combined, then beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the flour mixture, the chocolate chips and the optional nuts.
Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes or until golden and firm. Slide onto a cooling rack.

m xo