Snow Capped Chocolate Muffins

I was so happy to get to have my oldest son and his girlfriend come into town last night and stay over for breakfast this morning. (separate rooms, of course) They drove the 100 miles to see the spectacular Christmas lights at the nearby Rhema Bible College. We go several times a year, the lights are so spectacular. I was busy with Christmas all day yesterday, decorating the house and attending an ornament exchange last night. Too amusing that the ornament I made was a cupcake, being the low carber I am. This one was the ultimate sugarfree treat, being made with cupcake wrappers, a plastic ball ornament and topped with caulk and beads. That will keep you on the diet! Can you tell which is which?

Although the muffins I made this morning are not quite as cute, I promise they were way more delicious. My future daughter in law usually won't try my low carb creations. But since we were low on breakfast supplies, she let my boy have the last of the bacon, and she tried my muffins. I guess she approved, since she returned for more. Yeah. In fact, she told me I should sell the recipe to a coffeeshop so they could make them for customers. So look at what a deal you are getting today. I am publishing this for free! Who knows, though, they just might make it into a future cookbook. Among Friends is working on a second edition for 2012. I checked. Although there are many wonderful sounding muffins, we did not include a simple almond flour chocolate muffin in that edition. To check out what we did put in there, visit the Among Friends home page. There are some fabulous bakers in there, with their best recipes, a talent to which I could only aspire.

These are good for a simple Saturday morning breakfast, or for the muffins to last you the week when baking on prep day. I am going to give the recipe for a dozen, so be sure to double that if you want muffins for a family for a week.  To get ready for holiday baking, I ordered almond flour from a new distributor. I ordered from California Gold Almonds. The service was good, despite a small address mishap somewhere along the way. I haven't baked with the flour yet, but by appearance it looks very similar to what I used to get at Nutty Guys or Bob's Red Mill. The price is certainly right. I paid $23 plus shipping for 5 pounds. Still worked out cheaper than other places I have found, even with higher shipping. It looks like the Christmas sale for sliced almonds has a nice price also. I will let you know more after I bake some more goodies with it. I am always so stingy with my almond flour since it is so pricy. Somehow when you have a 5 pound bag, it is easier to use.

Snow Capped Chocolate Muffins


2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup ZSweet or  plain erythritol plus 2-3 packets of stevia
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 stick butter
 1 square unsweetened chocolate
1 tbsp powdered ZSweet or erythritol

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, erythritol, baking powder and salt. In  a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate. To the hot mixture, add eggs, one at a time. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Spoon batter 2/3's full into cupcake liners or oiled muffin tins. Bake 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees. Let muffins cool at least 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Sprinkle powdered erythritol on the tops for the snow cap effect. (an old salt shaker is good for this) For best texture, thoroughly cool the muffins before eating. Makes 12.

Using real chocolate in these muffins really lets the flavor shine through. Of course, they would be good with other additions--coconut, walnuts, etc. But I just wanted a pure chocolate taste. Yum. After making all those ornaments, I just couldn't help dressing up these plain chocolate muffins in a little holiday attire.' Tis the season.