This easy recipe for Moka Chocolate Chip Muffins is my take on my favorite baked item from a coffee shop I adored at Kaldi's Coffeehouse!
A good tender, moist, chocolate chip muffin is the start to a morning of breakfast bliss, in my opinion. I know it sounds indulgent, but I'm not proposing you have one every day! I'm thinking more along the lines of an occasion you can plan for and look forward too - like a weekend morning spent on the porch with fresh muffins, fruit, and cold brew iced coffee. Or maybe during 15 minutes of afternoon "me time" with a cup of espresso and a magazine {no screen time, please!}. You get the picture - these muffins need a dedicated moment for savoring and sipping!
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The flavor + texture I was striving for in this recipe was a mix of two muffins I've had and will not soon forget - the Mocha Muffin at Kaldi's Coffeehouse in Columbia, MO and a double chocolate chip muffin from La Menagerie in Florence, Italy. Both were extremely moist, not crazy sweet, filled with good-quality chocolate, and had bold notes of coffee flavor. I found the actual recipe for Kaldi's Mocha Muffins online from St. Louis Today, and then modified them a bit to suit my taste preferences/nutrition goals. If in-depth recipe talk is your thing, keep reading to see how I altered the recipe!
Tips
- Substitute white whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour: I typically do this in all of my muffin and quick bread recipes. This bumps up the protein, fiber, and B-vitamin content of the recipe and makes it "whole grain" while still providing a muffin that is soft and fluffy. I'm starting to grind my own white whole wheat kernels at home for baked goods, but King Arthur Flour's White Whole Wheat is my favorite store-bought version!
- Reduced the sugar by about half: a general rule for baking modifications is that you can reduce the sugar in a recipe by ⅓-1/2 without altering the structure, texture, and flavor too much. I find this to be especially true for muffins and quick breads, but it doesn't work as well in cookies and cakes.
- Replace sour cream with Greek yogurt: this adds a good bit of extra protein!
- Use low-fat dairy: I always use 1% milk in baking breads and muffins.
- Reduce salt by about half: I cut the salt in the original recipe from 1 teaspoon to ½ a teaspoon and the muffins still had loads of flavor!
- Use stove top-brewed espresso - to give the muffins an authentic Italian twist, I brewed Illy espresso in my stovetop Moka pot, just like they would do in Italy. This resulted in a deep espresso flavor in the muffins that I just love! If you don't have a stovetop espresso maker, instant espresso dissolved in hot water will be fine - I would recommend the Delallo brand for this!
Of course, there are many other modifications we could make to achieve various nutritional goals, which you can see listed below. However, based on experience with these alterations, I knew that these would significantly affect the taste, color, flavor and texture of the finished product. I wanted a muffin that tasted just like the Kaldi's Coffeehouse muffin I remember and love so much, and I'm happy to say that the goal was achieved! Other possible modifications include:
- Substituting ½ or all of the oil with unsweetened applesauce
- Replace the eggs with chia eggs
- Using non-dairy milks, yogurt, and vegan chocolate chips
- Using an all-purpose, gluten-free flour or oat flour
- Replacing the brown and cane sugars with honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar
If you decide to give these Moka Chocolate Chip Muffins a try, please let me know how they turn out for you and leave a comment below!
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Similar recipes
In the meantime, I think you would also enjoy this Double Chocolate Banana Bread or my Back Pocket Chocolate Fudge Cake!
Recipe
Moka Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup freshly brewed espresso (I use a stovetop Moka pot and Illy ground espresso to make this)
- ⅓ cup plus 1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur brand)
- 1 teaspoon espresso grind coffee (I use Illy brand)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup lowfat plain yogurt (Greek or regular is fine)
- ¼ cup milk (I used 1%)
- ½ cup neutral-flavored oil (grapeseed, canola, safflower, or walnut are all good)
- 2 whole large eggs (at room temperature and slightly beaten)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Stir the one teaspoon of cane sugar into the freshly-brewed espresso and let cool to room temperature. This will keep the coffee from becoming bitter as it cools *(see notes).
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Line 20 muffin wells with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugars, 2 cups of flour, ground espresso, baking powder, baking soda, and salt by stirring with a whisk. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cooled espresso until well blended.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour to the chocolate chips and stir to coat the chips. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the chocolate chips into the batter until just incorporated, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as you fold.
- Fill the lined muffin wells ⅔ full. Bake for 16-20 minutes until the center of each muffin is just set and springs back when touched. Remove muffin pans from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from each pan and place on a wire rack to cool slightly - serve warm or at room temperature!
- Store leftover muffins at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
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