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Rich and chocolaty, but made with a few healthy ingredients, whether you want a slightly decadent breakfast or a slightly healthier treat, any kid (or adult) would love to celebrate with or just snack on Happy Birthday {Healthier} Double Chocolate Chip Muffins with Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting.
Happy Birthday {Healthier} Double Chocolate Chip Muffins with Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting
I’m gonna keep this one short and sweet because this weekend is all about The Bug. He turns FOUR today! I can’t believe these years have gone by so fast. This kid is truly amazing, and I’m often kicking myself for the times when I don’t recognize and appreciate it as much as I should. I mean, he is going through a bit of a phase. He is doing a little yelling and demanding and grabbing things and acting out and exerting his will and throwing a tantrum when he doesn’t have total control or attention. But when I step back, I realize that most of the bad behaviors stem from the traits that are so amazing – his intelligence, attention to detail, independent nature, awareness of himself, passion, curiosity, creativity, imagination. And when he demonstrates these traits in a positive way, it is just so incredible to watch and experience. He became interested in Star Wars, but doesn’t have any of the toys, so imagined that his Toy Story and other Disney toys were the Star Wars characters. We’ve had lengthy discussions about the motivations of the characters in the The Little Mermaid. He remembers the smallest details of conversations you had weeks ago, so there’s no pulling any punches with him. He ends every night with Daddy (or occasionally Mommy) reading him a book, then him telling his own stories.
And he is only four. I can’t wait to see what the future holds, and the person he will become.
So this weekend is truly a weekend to celebrate this little boy. Today we are off to buy him a bike, and for dinner he requested eggs, fruit salad, and English muffins. And when I asked what he wanted for dessert, he wanted make-your-own sundaes. Saturday he wanted to go to Sesame Place. And Friday was his party at school.
And parties at school call for cupcakes…
Except his snack time at school, and thus his party, are at 10 am. So that calls for muffins…
Yeah, I’m that mom. I know they’ve had 10 am cake and cupcakes for eleven other birthdays this year, and we’ve all survived, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. You know, get a roomful of four-year-olds hopped up on sugar for that last hour that probably feels like two for their poor, sweet, angelic teachers, and then send them home to unsuspecting parents.
So they got muffins.
But you know, they were Double Chocolate Chip Muffins. I adapted this recipe from food.com, increased the quantities to make a big enough batch for the whole class, and secretly made them healthier with white whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and a leeeeeetle less sugar, but still plenty of chocolate…
Disguised as cupcakes with the addition of a little Greek yogurt cream cheese frosting. There you go… CUPCAKE MUFFINS!!
Who wants to wish my kid a big old HAPPY BIRTHDAY with me?
{Healthier} Double Chocolate Chip Muffins with Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
For the Greek yogurt cream cheese frosting (optional):
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature (I used light cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
For the muffins:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line 22-24 muffin cups with cupcake liners, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar.
- In another bowl, add the milk, Greek yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Add the wet ingredients and 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the dry ingredients, and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups, about 3/4 full.
- Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the muffin batter in the pans.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool pan on a wire rack for several minutes, then remove the muffins from the pans to the rack to cool completely.
- If desired, while cooling, prepare the Greek yogurt cream cheese frosting, and, when completely cool, frost the muffins.
For the Greek yogurt cream cheese frosting:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and whip with a hand mixer until smooth.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
Categories:
Enjoy!
Looking for some more muffins?
- {healthier} Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Gluten Free Almond Blueberry Mini Muffins
- Sage Cornbread Muffins
And here are some from my friends…
- Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk Muffins from The Dutch Baker’s Daughter
- Apple Cider Donut Muffins from The NY Melrose Family
- Coffeehouse Coffee Cake Muffins from Chocolate, Chocolate and More
These sound and look delicious! 🙂
Thanks!
Brianne, I hope you had a wonderful weekend with your son! It sounds like you had a lot of nice things planned. I am really loving these muffins. I admit that I like a little sweetness with my coffee in the morning, so these would be just great! I am that mom too- I send in whole wheat pumpkin chocolate chip muffins all of the time for birthday treats! Actually the children like it because of course it has the chocolate! These muffins are definitely on my to do list next week. Have a great weekend and a wonderful Mother’s Day:)
This looks so delicious! Definitely going to try this soon! Double the chocolate, double the fun!
awwww yay for the Bug!!! He IS an awesome kid and I hope he had an awesome birthday! I love that you made these muffins for him-they look delicious and like a treat but a healthier treat!
I’m sure your little man and his classmates loved these. I sure would! To me, muffins > cupcakes 🙂
Yes, they all loved them! Thanks!