These delicious chocolate power muffins are a great way to start the school day.
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost time for my girls to go back to school. While summers can be kind of crazy without the structure of school, I truly love and embrace the slower pace that summer brings. As we wind down our last week of break and prepare for another school year, I’m looking for ways that I can simplify our routines, get (and stay!) organized and keep the kids happy and healthy. With a much earlier start to our days just around the corner, creating a stress free morning routine is at the top of my list. My girls are picky eaters, and neither likes to eat the moment they wake up, so breakfasts can be a challenge. That’s where my chocolate power muffins come in.
When it comes to breakfast I have to find a way to fill my girls up and get some protein and complex carbs into them that can carry them to lunch. While there are a lot of food options that fit the bill, I also need it to be something that both my picky eaters are ready to eat up early in the morning. I need high quality nutrition + irresistible flavor. These chocolate power muffins are one my favorite ways to accomplish that. As an added bonus, they freeze wonderfully so I can bake a double (or triple!) batch on the weekend and stock the freezer for weeks!
These muffins are made with whole grains, pumpkin and protein from Greek yogurt, eggs and milk. And cocoa, because who doesn’t love chocolate for breakfast? My girls seem to do best when they start their day with a good amount of protein, so I love to pair these with Greek yogurt and some organic milk. One of the great things about muffins is that if we are running late, or if my girls just aren’t ready to eat right away, we can grab some muffins and Horizon Milk Boxes and take our breakfast to go.
I love that my local Fry’s Food & Drug store makes it easy to quickly pick up the ingredients I need for these muffins, and other meals, with their Natural Foods Department. While we don’t eat all organic, I’m pretty big on organic dairy products, so the Natural Foods Department makes it easy to pick up my favorite brands like Horizon and Simple Truth.
So let’s make some muffins!
These muffins are so easy to make. I don’t even use a mixer! First I combine my dry ingredients in a bowl. I use a combination of both all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour for these muffins. This recipe is really flexible and you can use just all-purpose or just white whole wheat, either will work. I use a dark cocoa powder as my family are dark chocolate lovers, but regular cocoa works just as well.
In a separate bowl I combine my wet ingredients. I love adding Greek yogurt to my muffins and breads, not only does it add moisture but it’s great for adding protein. When baking I always go with the plain Greek yogurt, as it has less sugar than a vanilla or flavored version. While these muffins have pumpkin in them (for moisture and Vitamin A), they do not have a pumpkin flavor. I find that pumpkin is really dependent on spices for it’s flavor, so if you leave them out, you just taste the chocolate. If however you want that pumpkin flavor to shine through, feel free to add a teaspoon or two of pumpkin pie spice!
All ingredients are combined and mixed together by hand. Easy peasy!
And into the oven they go.
These bake up in under 20 minutes, and you get 18 muffins out of the batch.
So let’s recap, these muffins are packed full of protein and whole grains, they contain a vegetable, they can be eaten on the go, they freeze well and the kids love them. These get an A+ in my grade book!
Chocolate Power Muffins
Chocolate Power Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2/3 - 3/4 cup sugar (we find 2/3 sweet enough (but others may prefer 3/4 cup))
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder (regular cocoa power is fine as well)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup chocolate chips (nuts or other mix ins (optional))
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine butter, Greek yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin in a bowl and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add in milk and stir until well combined. Scoop into a muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray or is lined with muffin liners.
- Place muffins in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store covered, preferably in the refrigerator. Muffins can also be frozen.
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
I hope these can help your family with those busy back to school mornings! And if you are looking for lunch ideas, check out my lunchbox routine!
You can find the ingredients you need to make these muffins, and more, in the Natural Foods department at your local Kroger store! Wishing you and your family smooth sailing as you head back to school!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon, Silk, & So Delicious. The opinions and text are all mine.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
These mufffins were absolutely delicious! Moist and chocolately and my kids loved them. However, I can’t pretend they are “power” muffins. I made the recipe as is and when calculating the nutrition (for my 17 muffin batch,) they are just 2.4 grams of protein each. So delicious, but still a breakfast treat and not a protein packed muffin. I will still make them again!
Do you have the nutrition info on these yummy sounding muffins?