Gluten Free Chocolate Olive Oil Muffins
This morning I found a bar of chocolate sitting in the sun, melting. Glossy and spreading. Me, black coffee in hand. I did what any intelligent hominid would do. I grabbed a muffin and dipped in the melting chocolate. And I took a bite. Behind me Logan was cooking eggs. Birds hung liquid songs on streams of morning light to dry. Sounds of city construction in the distance. Somewhere far off a child squeals in delight. I look over my to do list. Logan talks to me about financial trends. I pick chocolate muffin crumbs off of the table and eat them, one by one.
I don't believe in being strict about eating. I believe in eating well. I think it's important to feel into your body to find what it needs. And I also think it's important to experience beauty and deliciousness. Our world can be all dust and bone and harsh edges. So when we encounter loveliness we must dive in, head first. Get soaked with wonder. Eat beauty for breakfast.
Life can be a vast, delicious dessert or it can be an oppressive paperweight. Cake or death.
Cake please? Yes. Definitely cake.
These gluten free chocolate olive oil muffins, honestly, are more like decadent little cakes. They're extremely chocolatey, moist, and rich. I hesitate to even call them muffins. They hinge just on the verge of full on brownie. To me brownies are fudgey and melting, with crisp edges. Whereas these guys have more of a soft crumb. Because they're sweetened with maple syrup they live more in the realm of cake than brownie. And they're healthy. That's the pin in the hinge forcing me to call these muffins.
Maybe the BEST part of these chocolate olive oil muffins is that they're wholesome enough that you can eat them for breakfast! Intense chocolatey goodness first thing in the morning! If that doesn't make you feel like the queen of your own small tropical island, cake in hand, I don't know what does. Maybe a daiquiri and some dudes fanning you in banana leaves. Maybe that.
Pair these chocolate olive oil muffins with a cinnamon latte or black coffee... damn. Just... just damn. Make these. Trust me.
- 1 cup oat flour (about 3/4 cup oats, milled)
- 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed meal (about 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, milled)
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch Celtic sea salt
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 9 tablespoons apple sauce
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (white wine & apple cider vinegar are both fine)
- 6.5 ounces dark chocolate (60% or higher), chopped
- 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee, espresso or cold brew coffee concentrate
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 standard muffin tins with parchment muffin liners (enough for 18 muffins). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, garbanzo bean flour, sunflower seed meal, sorghum flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the chia seeds, apple sauce, maple syrup, 1/2 cup olive oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Stir everything together. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow the chia to expand and become gelatinous within the mixture.
- Melt the chocolate together with the coffee and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. You can either do this in the microwave in 10 second increments until your chocolate liquifies. Or you can do this on the stovetop in a sauce pan, carefully stirring and cutting off the heat as soon as the chocolate mixture is warmer than body temperature to the touch -- stir everything together evenly to combine.
- Add the wet chia mix to the dry flour mix and fold the ingredients together. Add the chocolate, folding it into the mix until it's evenly spread throughout.
- Fill each parchment muffin liner 3/4 of the way full with batter.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Remove and let cool at least 5 minutes before digging in.
- Serve with coffee or a glass of cold nut milk. Enjoy!