Chocolate Chocolate Chip 'Hider' Muffins

These are not intended to be 'dessert' muffins...

I baked some in 'regular sized' papers, and some in the 'large sized'...

I'm naming these 'Hiders' because there's plenty hiding in them!  Who knew chocolate could hide so much!?!?  As long as you keep the 'basics' happening in this recipe, I think you should be able to do pretty much what you want with it--  at least, I did.  Way at the bottom of this posting, I'll show how this recipe sort of started out before I 'did it my way'.**

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter

Combine and melt together the chips and butter over low heat (or in microwave).  Blend well and set aside for about 10 minutes.
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In the meanwhile, mix together the next six ingredients.

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk (2% will do; maybe buttermilk would, also?)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup sour cream, OR plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

After the 10-minute 'wait' period, add the melted chocolate/butter mixture to the above and mix until well blended...

 Separately, prepare the following seven dry 'additions' by combining all very well and then adding it to the above mixture, mixing only until the 'dry' is incorporated.

• 1 and 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sifted cocoa
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Stir in the following:

• 1 more cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries OR Craisins OR dried cherries OR ?

Spoon the batter (I use my larger sized cookie scoop for this) into the paper-lined muffin cups.

Bake at 380-degrees for about 15 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Remove muffin tin from oven and let stand at least 5 minutes before removing the muffins and letting them cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm or cooled; can be frozen as well.

Before they are TOTALLY cooled, I put them (four at a time) into quart-sized Ziplock bags and freeze.  Any moisture they 'contribute' in the bag, keeps the muffin as such.  This is what their center looks like...

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**  Ingredients for 12 regular-sized muffins:

• 1 cup of  chocolate chips, melted with 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup  semi-sweet chocolate chips