Buckwheat Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins, a healthy, gluten-free treat, mildly sweetened with coconut sugar, and dark chocolate chips bursting inside.
It seems like January has begun with a collection of healthy recipes. Not that in our home we eat "junk food", but lately we are paying even more attention to keeping sugar, bad fats, and calories under control.
I like to bake muffins and freeze some so that they're ready to thaw for breakfast or as a grab and go snack. We have a varied selection of recipes in our archive, mostly healthy, some a bit more decadent than others, some gluten-free, some vegan. In most of my baking, I try to stay away from refined sugars, using alternatives as frequently as possible. Among my favorites, there are maple syrup, coconut sugar, organic cane sugar, and honey. Moreover, looking at most of my muffin recipes, you will notice that another "regular" is the use of extra virgin olive oil or a good, organic, vegetable oil in lieu of the butter. My taste buds are trained by now to this flavor and the texture it lends to baked goods, and I can hardly eat a buttery and too sugary muffin anymore.
These Buckwheat Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins are full of good ingredients:
- buckwheat flour
- coconut sugar
- almond milk
- extra virgin olive oil
- yogurt (that can be replaced with a non-dairy yogurt for a vegan option)
- dark chocolate chips
- pure organic vanilla extract and baking powder
They require two bowls, a whisk, a spatula, and a muffin tin lined with paper muffin cups. That's it. Pretty easy to make, about 25 minutes to bake, and very rewarding to eat. If you do not have any gluten intolerance or allergy and are just trying to reduce your gluten intake, you can replace half of the buckwheat flour with a whole wheat flour, or oat flour. The texture of the muffins will be less "dense", but I have to tell you that I love the smooth and silky, yet slightly crumbly texture of the buckwheat and its nutty flavor. I find this a luxurious complement to the dark chocolate. I try to use the best ingredients I can find, including high-quality dark chocolate chips with a high percentage of cacao (70 % or higher). As we all know, dark chocolate is full of antioxidants, flavanols, vitamins and nutrients.
I froze half the batch, to have it ready for those mornings that require a chocolate "boost". I take them out of the freezer preferably the night before and pop them in the oven in the morning to warm them up and let those dark chocolate pockets "burst" in your mouth and smudge your hands with chocolaty goodness (finger licking required), lol. And surprisingly they taste like fresh baked.
Overall, to those of you who like muffins, this is a healthier surrogate, with a higher nutritional value. Moist, dense but soft, not too sweet, with dark chocolate chips providing some "oomph", these Buckwheat Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins are more filling and substantial than regular muffins, so having one for breakfast will -most likely- get you going until lunch time. Or you can have one as a mid-afternoon snack (I did) with a cup of tea or a glass of almond milk.
I take it as a compliment when people tell me I don't look like I eat all the sweets that I bake. But I can assure you I do, so I must be doing something right 🙂 .
Song of the day: "Shut Up and Dance", by Walk The Moon.
Print Buckwheat Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins [G.F.]
Buckwheat Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins, a healthy, gluten-free treat, mildly sweetened with coconut sugar, and dark chocolate chips bursting inside.
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 400 g (3 cups) organic buckwheat flour
- 70 g (½ cup) organic coconut palm sugar
- 1 sachet (16 g; 3 tsp) baking powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) plain yogurt
- 200 ml (⅔ cup) almond milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 120 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- 100 g (a heaping ½ cup) dark chocolate chips
- icing sugar for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a muffin tray with paper cups. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the wet ingredients: yogurt, milk, vanilla, and oil. Stir well.
- In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, and baking powder.
- Pour the wet into the dry and with a spatula mix just until it comes together.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir briefly. Do not overwork.
- With the help of an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until a wood skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack, then sprinkle some icing sugar on top.
Notes
If you use a non-dairy yogurt, these muffins are vegan and gluten-free.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
Ricetta in Italiano:
Print Muffins di Grano Saraceno con Gocce di Cioccolato Fondente [senza glutine]
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 400 g farina grano saraceno
- 70 g zucchero di cocco o canna
- 1 bustina di lievito
- 250 g yogurt bianco
- 200 ml latte di mandorle o riso
- 120 ml olio e.v.o. (o vegetale)
- 1 cucchiaino estratto di vaniglia
- 100 g gocce di cioccolato fondente
Instructions
- Preriscaldate il forno a 180° C e mettete i pirottini di carta in un vassoio per muffin.
- In una ciotola media, mescolate bene gli ingredienti umidi: yogurt, latte, vaniglia e olio.
- In una ciotola più grande, mescolate insieme gli ingredienti secchi: farina, zucchero e lievito.
- Versate gli ingredienti umidi in quelli secchi e con una spatola mescolate brevemente ad amalgamare.
- Aggiungete le gocce di cioccolato e date una sommaria mescolata.
- Versate l'impasto nei pirottini dei muffins.
- Cuocete in forno già caldo per circa 25 minuti, o fino a quando uno stuzzicadenti inserito nel centro del muffin esca pulito.
- Lasciate raffreddare su una gratella, poi cospargete con un una spruzzata di zucchero a velo.
Notes
Se volete dei muffins vegani, sostituite lo yogurt con uno di cocco, o soya.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
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I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Mel @ The Refreshanista says
This looks like a recipe I've got to try! I love all the healthy ingredients in there, and what's better than a chocolate chip muffin? 🙂
Hi Mel, thank you! Hope you try them and let me know! Healthy but good 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Healthy muffins? Sign me up 🙂 Always nice to have a treat that is made with better-for-you- ingredients. Love that you added the chocolate chips and those little muffins liners are adorable!! Happy New Year to you guys!
Thank you, Dawn! Yes, it's nice to have healthy muffins once in a while, and if they have chocolate chips, the better! 🙂 Happy New year!
Samantha @mykitchenlove says
These photos are so pretty! And funny enough, I have some GF buckwheat muffins coming out next week ... but for kids/babies. I hope the tops of my mini look half as good as yours!
Thank you, Samantha! Don't you just love buckwheat flour? I'm sure your photos are lovely and your recipe is delicious! Can't wait to see your mini muffins for kids!
Karly says
Well these are stinking gorgeous. It's like I can taste the perfectly sweet and sharp dark chocolate waking my cranky butt up in the morning already. Gotta try these soon!
Oh my, Karly, I can tell you those drops of dark chocolate are just what the I need for most of my mornings! Thanks for stopping by!
Bethany @ athletic avocado says
These muffins look so fluffy and moist! They'd go PERFECT with coffee!
Bethany, thank you! They are fluffy and moist and nutty and chocolaty! And I can assure you they go perfectly with my morning coffee 🙂
Balvinder says
I would love to try these fluffy buckwheat muffins.
Thank you Balvinder, hope you try them!
Jenny | The Baking Skillet says
Such a great recipe with all those delicious things in there. Breakfast muffins is one of my favorite things to have in the freezer!
Thank you Jenny! We also love breakfast muffins and these buckwheat dark chocolate muffins are finger licking good! 🙂
Kelly says
What kind of buckwheat flour did you use for these muffins? Baked goods with buckwheat are typically much darker, brown/gray. The muffins in the picture look like regular wheat flour muffins.
Hi! It depends on the brands, I found some lighter and some darker. That specific flour was light and beautiful. On the contrary, if you saw our post for Pizzoccheri (a buckwheat pasta from Italy) they are extremely dark because that bucwheat was almost like ash. I assure you it was buckwheat and not wheat, we are not used to post something that is not "real" on our blog.