Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins | Lighter Option
Ingredients
5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups (210 g) all-purpose gluten free flour (I used my Better Than Cup4Cup blend, but Better Batter works, too)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
2 eggs (100 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten*
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup (5 1/3 fluid ounces) buttermilk, and room temperature*
2 ounces miniature or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional, but included in nutrition info below)
*For the lighter option, in place of 2/3 cup of buttermilk, use 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) lowfat buttermilk at room temperature + enough water to make 2/3 cup (5 1/3 fluid ounces) liquid. In place of the 2 eggs, use 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites. In place of the 5 tablespoons of butter, use 4 (56 g). In place of 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, use 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons (84 g) granulated sugar. The nutrition information below is for the lighter recipe.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin, and set it aside.
In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the chopped butter and chocolate and place over a small pot of simmering water, making sure the water in the pot doesn’t touch the bowl. Melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Set the bowl aside to cool briefly.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the eggs or egg and egg whites, vanilla, and buttermilk or buttermilk and water mixture, and mix to combine. Add the (optional) 2 ounces chocolate chips, and then the melted butter and chocolate. Mix to combine. The batter will be thick but smooth. Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups, smooth the tops with wet fingers.
Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 19 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Information per lighter muffin, as calculated with recipes.sparkpeople.com (I only provide nutrition info for recipes that I call “light” or “lighter”):
Calories 175.3 | Total Fat 9.1g | Cholesterol 28.6 mg | Sodium 116.7 mg | Potassium 111.7 mg | Total Carbohydrate 21.9 g (Dietary Fiber 1.9 g; Sugars 9.1 g) | Protein 3.0 g
Originally published on the blog in 2014. Recipe unchanged, photos, video all new.
