When your child turns 6 years old, you suddenly realize a few things:
1. they start to remember things for the rest of their life
2. they can put 2 and 2 together, and I am not talking math here
3. they want to know if superheros are real
Recently, our 6 year old came up to us and asked if we could buy her a Kindle Fire...pretty pretty please. After choking on a muffin and an attempted eye communication between my Hubby and I, she was told that she has a tablet. She's got her LeapPad...But it's different and all....What do you mean different? You are a kid. Do you know how hard it was to get it and that it cost more than our tablet?
In that point I started to choke on my muffin again because I realized we were telling her straight up that we bought the LeapPad for Christmas. Crap! She is good. Knows to ask us for things like that before bedtime, after a long and busy day, when I am turning myself onto relaxing mode. So I squeezed my Hubby's arm and started to flap my eyelashes and not in a romantic way. By then our 3 year old comes up with her Barbie and looking for a doll hair brush. So they go off to search for it. Santa's cover has been blown. Almost. And it's not even Christmas yet!
The next day, Big Sweetie Pie asks me if superheros are real. Yeah, somehow I knew we were not done with the subject yet....
So what do you answer to your child? "You know, they are always so sneaky helping people that I've never seen them. " "Like Santa?" "Yeah! Just like Santa. You've never seen him yet he brings you gifts every Christmas." "Cool. Maybe he can bring me Kindle Fire this year!". Phew... wait, what???
I decided to drizzle melted chocolate over the streusel topped muffin because my Hubby doesn't like dry cakes, coffee cakes and muffins and I wanted him to try my muffin and like it. And like it he did.
Cocoa Muffins
Ingredients
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 c sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ c unsalted butter melted, cooled
- 1 ½ c all-purpose flour
- ½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ c all-purpose flour
- ¼ c unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ c salted butter melted
- ¼ c packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spray muffin tin with cooking oil and lightly dust with flour OR line with muffin paper liners. Set aside.
- In a bowl of your stand mixer, beat together sour cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients ( flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt ).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold in. Do not over mix!
- For the streusel topping:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, both sugars and sea salt.
- Add melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until it resembles coarse crumbs and eventually the dough starts to clump up together.
- Assembling:
- Fill your muffin tins not more than ¾ full per cavity.
- Top with streusel topping.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean.
- Cool muffins in the pan for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate. ( optional )
- Bake 18 - 20 minutes.
Nutrition
These muffins are the best cocoa muffins I have ever had! They are chalk full of cocoa flavor, not too sweet, just enough. The streusel topping is the perfect finish for them. You can totally omit it but i recommend trying these with the topping. You will love it! Drizzling with melted chocolate is optional but to me there is never enough melted chocolate. SO there you have it. Chocolate treat for breakfast. You are welcome. 🙂
When did you realize the whole Santa and superheros thing?
xoxo,
Anna
poonam says
The muffins looks so yummy ! recipe must try it with easily available ingredients and simple to cook ... melted chocolate flavor is delightful with dark cream.
amy donovan says
Oh wow, these sound absolutely wonderful! Wish I could get my hands on one right now!
Liz says
My dad was heartbroken when he found out about no Santa, so my parents never really played him up. My kids were probably 6-7 when they figured it out....I think the Easter bunny was harder for them to rationalize than Santa 🙂
PS...magnificent muffins!!!
Anna @ hiddenponies says
Oooh, I can never get enough muffins! I will definitely be trying these!
Jessica says
These are my kind of muffins! I've never had a chocolate streusel topping before. . .it sounds wonderful!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Thanks, Jessica!
Jen @ Savory Simple says
They all kind out about santa eventually! These muffins look incredible.
OishiiTreats says
That looks like a chocolate lovers dream, im drooling right now. funny story about your daughter, I love some of the stuff kids say and come up with, you just never expect it sometimes. reminds me of funny stories of my nephew
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
I swear, it's like we live the very same lives! Great story, thanks for sharing. Lovely muffins!!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
I know, right? 🙂 I love it! Thank you for stopping by, sweet Kristy! xoxo
Ruth says
I found out when I was about 9, always a very innocent child. My brother started suspecting at about 6 and he told my dad to tell him, otherwise when he grew up his children would not have any Christmas presents! LOL! The muffins look amazing!, not a rare thing in your blog 🙂
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Aww, thank you! Seems like boys figure those things out sooner, huh? Will have to remember this. 🙂 Always happy to see you here, Ruth! Have a fabulous Sunday!
Ramona says
My son is starting to question Santa... but he still believes a little. My daughter still believes in him with her whole heart. They also believe in the tooth-fairy, Easter bunny and birthday fairy. 🙂 Of course when they watch TV they always ask me "is this for real or pretend". Childhood is such a precious part of life and you can see the wheels turning in their brains as they are growing up and figuring out the world. My son is all about xbox games... some are very expensive. It's hard sometimes to say yes or not. But they realize with me being at home with them that some things are just monetarily out of our reach so we can still provide them with all their needs. Christmas....Ahhhh! That's always stressful for the old bank account. 🙂 Now I need a muffin. I love the chocolate streusel on top too. 🙂
Paula says
After a cocoa brownie, there was a need for a muffin! I agree with your husband about the chocolate drizzle. Sometimes I think that parents get more frustrated than kids when they learn Santa or Superheroes are not real...jaja
Angie says
Your kids sound so sweet to me. Maybe I am not the one who has to answer all their questions ;-))
These muffins look wholesome!
Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch says
Oh my goodness Anna there look amazing as always! All my favorite things! Chocolate and streusel! Have a great weekend my friend!
The Mom Chef says
Our Dudette was never really led to believe in Santa wholeheartedly so she decided early on to stop pretending and just enjoy that the gifts are from people who love her.
Hubby would love these muffins with or without the topping, but they definitely look decadent with it.