Healthy Melt in Your Mouth Chocolatey Muffins

About 8 months ago I found a recipe for Healthy Chocolate Cake here. The first time I made it I thought "These are really good", but I did not want to make the suggested chocolate frosting (if you have young children, you understand why). It's a really good cake, but without the frosting it is not as exciting as the original creator had intended. I decided it was time to improvise a bit and come up with something tasty to satisfy my chocolate cravings but be kid-friendly at the same time. Over the months I have tweaked the former recipe and have ended up with these Healthy Melt in Your Mouth Chocolatey Muffins. You will NOT be disappointed! Trust me.

These mini muffins are the perfect size for tiny hands, and the addition of chocolate chips keeps anyone from wondering where the frosting went. Because of how healthy and delicious these are, they are an excellent substitution to fat and calorie laden desserts even if you eat 3 or 4 at a time. 

These are soft and full of melty chocolate when served warm, but eating them at room temperature keeps the mess at bay while still making everyone happy. My toddler loves these as much as I do...we may just inhale 48 of these mini muffins within 3 days. Which is good since that's how long I'd leave them sitting on the counter before moving them into the fridge. They will last for about 7 days in the fridge and in the freezer for 3 months. These freeze great. When you are ready to eat them, just thaw them in the fridge overnight and pull them right out of the fridge and into your mouth OR pop them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds for a nice warm treat. Caution: you can't eat just one.

Healthy Melt in Your Mouth Chocolatey Muffins

(Can be Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, refined sugar free, Vegan, Vegetarian, low sugar)

Makes 48 mini muffins or 24 medium size muffins

Ingredients (my list of ingredients make a double batch compared to the original recipe)

• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-free all-purpose flour (or all-purpose wheat flour if gluten is not a problem)
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups unsweetened applesauce 
• 1/3 cup of Splenda, Stevia, or Sugar*
• 1 tbs vanilla flavoring
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (dairy free)*
• Spray canola oil**

Directions

1. Spray two mini muffin pans with the canola oil.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In another bowl combine the applesauce, Splenda, and vanilla.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until fully mixed together.
5. If the mixture is not a thick cake-like consistency add a bit of milk (soy, almond, or cow) or water to the mix and stir.
6. Add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips to the bowl and fold in. 
7. Turn your oven onto 180 degree C or 350 degrees F. (I turn my oven on here to save electricity and from keeping my house from getting too hot in the summer.)
8. Pour the mixture into the muffin pans.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes. Since ovens cook differently, check them at 8 minutes to make sure they don't burn.

This is how your mixture should look before adding the chocolate chips.

Fill up the cups 2/3 of the way to get 48 mini muffins.
They may seem a little small at first because of how big
America's portion sizes have become, but eating 3 of these
will leave you very satisfied!

Make sure you let them cool before you bite into one.
I know it's hard, but the wait is worth it :)

If you like this recipe, please feel free to CLICK one of the "Reactions" below above the comments and/or add this recipe to your Pinterest board and/or share on Facebook! Thanks :)

Notes:

*I prefer to use Splenda or Stevia, but for those of you that prefer to use sugar please do. It will not alter the recipe and will be just as delicious! If you don't want to add the chocolate chips, do 1/3 cups of sweetener in their place. This would give you a total of 2/3 cup of sweetener. 

**You can use any oil or butter in place of the spray oil to grease your pan.

Nutrition Facts:

(per mini muffin with chocolate chips and splenda)

Cals-29, Fat-0.7g, Carb-6g, Fiber-0.4g, Sugar- 1g, Pro-0.7g