Life has been moving quickly lately. We have only a little over 20 days of school left, and the past few weeks have been crazy- a class trip to New York, a few more college acceptances, more snow delays, a research paper, lots of tests, a new job, etc. The next month or two promise not to let up either; Prom, Easter break, a senior capstone project (job shadowing), graduation, graduation parties, and of course, deciding on a college.

When we’re busy, it can be hard to fit in making food and photographing it for the blog. However, on Sunday, we decided to take some time off and bake. After sifting through tons of recipes that we’ve saved and flipping through our favorite blogs, we eventually settled on these muffins that we found on Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, originally from the Joy the Baker Cookbook.

These muffins may be close to the cupcake end of the spectrum, but they are worth every calorie. They are rich chocolatey muffins studded with chocolate chips and topped with a white chocolate drizzle (which leaves them with a Hostess-esque look). The chocolate flavor is amped up with a bit of espresso powder, one of our favorite pairings with chocolate. The cupcakes don’t taste like coffee, don’t worry- the espresso powder just helps heighten the chocolate flavor. They’re some of the yummiest muffins we’ve made in a while, and we know that you’ll love them too!

Triple Chocolate Muffins

Recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook via Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Makes 12-16 muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

5 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 oz white chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with muffin liners.

In a pot over low heat, melt the butter and the chocolate together. Be careful to keep it low and stir often to avoid burning the chocolate (you could also do this in a microwave, stirring every 30 seconds). Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso together in a medium bowl; whisk until evenly mixed.

Add the brown sugar to the butter and chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the prepared cups with batter (each cup should be a little more than 2/3 full). Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for several minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt the white chocolate (either over low heat or in the microwave). Drizzle the chocolate over the cupcakes. This is easily done by filling a plastic sandwich bag with the chocolate and cutting off the tip. Enjoy!