Coffee-Chip Muffins

Tips: Not every homemade chocolate treat has to be involved or complex. These muffins, with the good flavors of coffee and chocolate, are almost as easy to make as they are to eat. You’ll need a standard-sized, 12-cup muffin tin, with cups that are 2-1/2 inches in diameter at the top, in addition to paper liners for the cups. As with most muffins, these are at their best warm. You can store them airtight for up to a day or so at room temperature, but give them a quick reheating in the microwave at 50% (medium) power for about 10 or 12 seconds apiece before eating them. You can also freeze them for longer storage (defrost, still, in wrappings, at room temperature, then reheat as above before serving). Nice for afternoon tea or perhaps an Easter brunch.

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. hot water
• 2-1/4 tsp. instant coffee granules
• 1 egg, graded large
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, stirred with a fork before measuring
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Method:

Line the cups of a standard-sized, 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set the tin aside. Adjust rack to center of oven; preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

In small cup, dissolve instant coffee in hot water. Set aside. Place egg in separate small cup; add a small amount of milk (about a tablespoon, but it’s not necessary to measure). With a fork, beat well to blend thoroughly. Return this mixture to the remaining milk, add vanilla, and beat to mix with the fork. Set aside.

Into medium bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With spoon, stir to blend well. Add miniature chocolate chips and stir to distribute evenly. Add dissolved coffee, egg-milk mixture, and melted butter. Stir (do not beat) only until combined and dry ingredients are moistened (scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula partway through mixing to ensure complete blending); batter will be thick and contain some lumps (other than the chocolate chips).

Divide batter evenly among lined muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Place in preheated oven; IMMEDIATELY REDUCE HEAT TO 375 DEGREES F!!!!! Bake 16 to 19 minutes, turning tin back-to-front once about halfway through baking time. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted near center of a muffin in the middle of the tin emerges with only a few moist crumbs still clinging to it; do not overbake. When muffins are done, remove tin from oven. Immediately and carefully transfer muffins to cooling rack (hot muffins are fragile). Serve warm, or cool completely before storing as described above.

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