In case you’re wondering, I’ve found my hidden talent. No. It’s not juggling although I so wish I could juggle. It’s muffins guys. Deliciously, sweet cream cheese and chocolate muffins.
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SUGAR-FREE AND GRAIN-FREE TREATS!
I’ve been baking and cooking a lot more this past year but I’m thinkin’ I might have found my baking jam. And that’s creating deliciously, scrumptious muffins (that also happen to be sugar-free and grain-free). I hope I don’t sound like I’m bragging, but DAY-UM these are really, really good and I’m super proud to share.
If you’ve been following along, you’ve already seen my Berry Pancake Muffins and Cinnamon Roll Muffins. Well, today, I’m unveiling these delicious cream cheese and chocolate muffins.
Just picture a brownie and chocolate cupcake smooshed together with a hint of coconut and that’s what you’ll get with this chocolate muffin.
MAKE SURE YOU USE DARK CHOCOLATE
This chocolate muffin is filled with healthy fats, almond flour and doesn’t have any unrefined sugar. The other added bonus? Dark chocolate. I use 100% dark cocoa powder in this recipe (the sugar-free kind) which help to make these muffins even healthier. Cocoa powder has TONS of health benefits including its impact on blood pressure, improved brain function and positive effects on mood. Who knew eating a chocolate muffin could be so good for you!
WHAT’S THE SECRET?
The secret to this recipe (in addition to the dark chocolate) is identical to the secret used to bake my cinnamon roll muffins – creating a separate filling/frosting and swirling it in the batter BEFORE it bakes.
This way, the cream cheese filling melts and bakes into the chocolate muffin, giving it a great texture and hints of “frosting” in almost every bite (without the frosting on top)!
ADD FROSTING & MAKE IT A CUPCAKE
The hubs and I agree that even without frosting this muffin tastes like a chocolate cupcake in disguise. If you want to make it into a really decadent treat, top it with a little mascarpone and a few coconut flakes. The mascarpone totally brings out the sweetness in the cake and tastes AMAZING.
I’ve mentioned this before (I like my desserts subtly sweet) but if you want to make them even sweeter, make some extra filling and ice the muffin just prior to eating. Top with sugar-free chocolate chips, crushed nuts, or sugar-free sprinkles! You’re the muffin boss!
COCONUT OIL MAKES THIS CHOCOLATE MUFFIN MELT
Instead of butter (which I use in my other muffin recipes), I melted some coconut oil and used that to elevate the flavor from “hi. I’m your run of the mill chocolate muffin” to “hey girl…hey.”
I personally LOVE the flavor of coconut in this muffin. It’s super subtle and doesn’t overpower any of the other flavors (including the cream cheese or dark chocolate).
THE RECIPE
The recipe is below and yours if you want it! Whether you’re eating a keto diet and looking to fit something sweet into your daily macros or just looking for an easy, guilt-free dessert, I hope you enjoy these chocolate muffins as much as I do 🙂
| Servings |
muffins
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- 1 3/4 cup Almond Flour
- 1/4 cup 100% Dark Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup granulated erythritol (or other sugar substitute)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp himalayan pink salt
- 2 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/4 cup extra virgin unrefined coconut oil
- 3 large Eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 oz Cream Cheese
- 1 TBSP heavy whipping cream
- 1 TBSP powdered erythritol (or other powdered sugar substitute)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients
Make the Batter
Make the Filling (can also be frosting)
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with parchment liners. You can also grease your pan, but grain free /sugar-free desserts tend to stick.
- Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and soften (I pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds). In a seperate bowl, melt your coconut oil (microwave in 30 second increments) and when melted, add to softened cream cheese and mix well until combined.
- Add remaining wet ingredients eggs (lightly beaten), vanilla and ACV. Mix together well until combined.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to the wet (almond flour, cocoa powder, erythritol, baking soda and salt. Mix together until well combined. The batter will be thick.
- Add the cream cheese to a small bowl and soften (I pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds).
- Then, add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla and erythritol and mix well until blended into a "frosting".
- Evenly fill the muffin liners with HALF batter (I use a cookie scoop which yields about 1 scoop per muffin).
- Using a teaspoon, top each muffin (batter) with HALF the filling. I usually dip the teaspoon in the filling and grab enough filling to take up 1/4 of the teaspoon. Do this for each muffin until HALF the filling is equally distributed on top of the muffin batter.
- Using a toothpick, swirl the filling into the muffin batter. This isn't a perfect process. Just swirl it around until you feel it's swirled enough.
- Take the remaining batter and equally distribute it on top of each muffin. Then take the remaining filling and equally distribute it on top of each muffin. Swirl together with toothpick.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Let cool and enjoy!
SERVING SIZE: 1 muffin
MACROS: 201 calories | 17 g fat | 6 g protein | 3.25 g net carbs
Nutritional Info Disclaimer: I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I provide nutritional information for my recipes as a courtesy based upon the ingredients I'm using. I encourage you to find a nutritional calculator you like best and calculate individual nutrition info based upon the ingredients you are using. All carb counts are based upon total carbs unless otherwise noted.
CHECK OUT MY CINNAMON ROLL MUFFINS HERE!
*DISCLAIMER: This post is a combination of my personal insights, opinions and thoughts on various topics and products and may contain affiliate or referral links. I earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, which helps me continue on this fabulous journey of blogging! Full disclaimers avail. here.
These look so good! I can’t wait to try them! But the print button won’t let me print the recipe.