Paige Harris Cozy up with a gluten-, grain-, & dairy-free Hot Cocoa Muffin to start your New Year off right. 100% nutritious, 100% delicious.
I started off 2020 with one of these babies and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.
Sure, there are a lot of muffin recipes on my blog, but that’s honestly because I love them so much. The love affair started off with my Paleo Pumpkin Muffins back in September of 2018 and I’ve been hooked ever since!
I created those muffins (and continue to make more variations of them) because I grew up with a HUGE sweet tooth. I’m talking cookie dough Pop-Tarts for breakfast and multiple-bowls-of-ice cream at night kind of sweet tooth.
Now, I try to limit my sugar intake. But if I said that you should never indulge in something sweet, I would be a total hypocrite.
That’s why I choose to use sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, and coconut sugar. They’re still sweet but come from natural sources, and have a lower glycemic index than white sugar. (This means that your body can produce less insulin in response to the sugar in your blood. I’ll talk more about this in a future post!)
Here’s a list of a few other ways to sweeten up your day without reaching for the table sugar:
- Put a dollop of honey in your tea instead of a sugar packet
- Use maple syrup & almond milk to sweeten your coffee instead of your artificial creamer
- Make a batch of these Hot Cocoa Muffins instead of grabbing the sugar-filled ones at the store
I make each Hot Cocoa Muffin into a delicious breakfast by crumbling it up over top of a bowl of whole fat Greek yogurt mixed with cinnamon and ginger. Frozen berries add a little more sweetness, coconut butter adds some healthy fat, and pumpkin seeds add crunch! You really don’t need anything else!
Start the new decade off with a little less sugar without giving up your chocolate habit.
Hot Cocoa Muffins
These gluten- and dairy-free muffins are perfect to warm you up on a cold winter morning.
Ingredients
Dry
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Wet
- 4 eggs room-temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted & cooled
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup canned pumpkin NOT pie filling
Optional
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips if you feel like making them extra chocolatey
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a muffin tin with 9 liners. I like using these silicone liners, but paper ones work too!
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In a medium mixing bowl, combine your coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
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In a larger mixing bowl, beat your eggs and vanilla together until foamy. Once the coconut oil is cooled, add it in as well, followed by the maple syrup. Mix until combined.
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Add the pumpkin to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
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Dump in your dry ingredients. It's okay to do this all at once! Mix thoroughly until no lumps are left. (Mix in the optional chocolate chips at this step.)
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Spoon dough equally into the muffin liners and smooth the tops down. They won't flatten during baking, so be sure to make them look their best!
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Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Muffins will stay good at room temperature for ~5 days in a sealed container, but I like to freeze mine and just microwave them for 30 seconds when I'm ready for a treat!
These are delicious! Super easy to make and so light and fluffy!! I’ll definitely be making these on a regular basis!
I’m so glad you like them! 🙂