Hot Chocolate Muffins

Yes, those are indeed what you  think they are. 

Mini-marshmallows.

I can just picture the little question balloons popping up over your head cast in the light from the glow of your computer screen. "But Kala, you always talk about healthier food choices, aren't those things made from a bunch of nastiness?"

I won't lie, they're mostly a combination of  corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, dextrose, water, gelatin ( that may or may not be of animal origin depending on the brand), and probably a few additives for the snow-white color.   A lot of people don't bat an eyelash to eating those things on a daily basis, and while I maintain that natural and organic foods are always the best choices flavor and health-wise, we all have our weaknesses. 

However, Marshmallow is ridiculously good when made from scratch, and I'll share some of my favorite recipes on here in the future, so stay tuned, but this recipe calls for the old-fashioned marshmallows Granny used in her Rice Krispie Treats many of us ate a thousand of when we were kids, and most of us survived unscathed.

 This is my recipe for Hot chocolate muffins. I devised them after having a Mexican hot chocolate last winter, complete with cayenne, cinnamon and a fist-full of jet-puffed marshmallows, and it just seemed right to translate that delectable concoction into muffin form.

Hot Chocolate Muffins
- 3.5 cups all-purpose flour ( I use whole wheat all-purpose)
-1 cup sugar
-2 cups buttermilk 
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup mini- marshmallows 
-1/2 cup chocolate chips
-1.5 sticks melted butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1 t. baking soda
-1.5 T. Baking powder
-1/2 t. salt
-1 t. vanilla
-1 t. cinnamon
-1 t. ground ginger
- 1 t. cayenne
- 2 t. red pepper flakes 
Directions:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, flour, spices, leavening in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl, whisking the sugar with the melted butter, then adding the eggs, vanilla  and milk, and whisking until combined but not frothy. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry, and lastly fold in the marshmallows and chocolate. Scoop muffin batter into sprayed, lined muffin tins. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

A lot of people are fearful of the spicy- chocolate combo, but rest assured, it's awesome.

The chocolate flavor of the cocoa and chips are decadent and rich, and the spice amount just lingers in your mouth long enough to warm you up.   

 If you really can't do the flavor of the heat but want to try this recipe, round down the cayenne and red pepper flakes until you find an amount you can tolerate. Our wimpy mid-western taste buds need conditioning to tolerate spice around these parts, since we grew up eating hot dishes that lacked a certain spice factor.. ( Tator- tot casserole anyone?)

I urge you to step out of your culinary comfort zone, you might be surprised at what you really enjoy. (this means you, Kelsey) ;)