Golden Chocolate Chip Muffins

Aren’t you glad that dark chocolate has evolved into one of those foods that’s supposed to be good for you?

I sure am. I loveloveLOVE chocolate. Not all chocolate, mind you. Milk chocolate? Ho-hum. White chocolate? To me, that’s an oxymoronic concept; I don’t go there. But semisweet? Now you’re talking. And bittersweet? So long as it balances nicely between the bitter and the sweet, I’m good with it.

For the past 5 years or so, dark chocolate (which includes semisweet) has been touted as an antioxidant. Thus I feel good—noble, almost—whenever I break out the bag of chocolate chips. Oh, I know—chocolate chips aren’t Nature’s Perfect Health Food. But still! 

And when you combine dark chocolate with whole wheat—as I’ve done in these Golden Chocolate Chip Muffins—I’m feeling even more confident that I’m actually baking something healthy. Maybe chocolate—dark chocolate, that is—isn’t such a “guilty” pleasure after all!

We get a lot of questions about our King Arthur Golden Wheat Flour. What is it? Is it white flour, or whole wheat? So here it is, the visual difference between King Arthur traditional whole wheat flour, milled from red wheat (on the left); and King Arthur golden wheat flour, milled from white wheat (on the right). Both are 100% whole wheat flours: nothing is added, nothing taken away. The golden wheat is just a lighter-colored, milder-tasting wheat. If you love the flavor of whole wheat flour, choose red wheat (our traditional ww flour). If you're looking to add whole wheat to your baking in a rather unobtrusive way, choose our golden wheat flour.

First, combine the butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

Add the eggs...

...and beat again. The mixture will seem a bit grainy. Stir in the milk.

Gently beat in the flour, then the chocolate chips.

Line a muffin tin with papers, and grease the papers. Dollop the batter into the papers, filling them quite full. A muffin scoop works well here.

Notice this is a thick batter, one that holds its shape well.

Sprinkle some coarse white sugar atop each muffin, if you like.

Bake till they're set and a very light golden brown.

Remove from the oven, and carefully tilt in their cups. This allows the heat to escape, preventing the muffins from becoming soggy.

Now that's MY idea of a whole wheat muffin!

Read, review, and rate (please!) our recipe for Golden Chocolate Chip Muffins.