- Nutritious Plants
Cherry Chocolate Muffins (VG, GF)


Who doesn't love fluffy muffins?
And you know what, you definitely don't need eggs or dairy to achieve this. Today we've got some cherry chocolate muffins baking in the oven. As if the cherry-chocolate flavor wasn't enough, I've added some lemon zest which takes it to the next level. Thanks for the tip, mom! So, open your pantry, put some jazz on and let's get started!
CHERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS
VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, SUGAR-FREE
YIELD: makes 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
Dry ingredients:
2 cups and 1 tbsp of buckwheat flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla bean powder
Wet ingredients:
200ml of plant-based milk (I used cashew milk)
120ml of maple syrup
60ml of melted coconut oil
The zest of 1 lemon
1 chia egg (1tbsp of chia soaked in 3 tbsp of water for 5-10 minutes)
For the cherry chocolate flavor
12 pitted cherries (frozen or fresh)
4 tbsp of dark chocolate chips or shredded dark chocolate

DIRECTIONS:
Start by combining the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Save the tablespoon of flour for later as we will need it for coating the cherries.
In a second bowl add all of the wet ingredients and whisk together (scroll down to read the tip).
Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients all at once. Using a wooden spoon, mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no dry flour is visible. Overmixing can cause the muffins to be tough and not fluffy enough.
Gently fold the chocolate into the batter near the end of mixing.
Pour the mixture into 12 muffin paper cups or silicone forms filling only 3/4 of their volume.
Coat the cherries in the remaining tablespoon of flour.
Using your hands press one coated cherry into the middle of each muffin until it sinks, but is still visible.
Bake at 200ºC / 400ºF for 20 minutes.
Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the baking tray, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
TIP: Make sure to let the melted coconut oil cool down for a bit prior to usage. Don't use milk straight out of the fridge since it can harden up the melted coconut oil once combined.
Enjoy!
Antoniya