Need some chocolate? Give these muffins a try

Dear Cook’s Notebook: My husband is a chocolate lover. He loves Costco’s chocolate muffins. I would like to make my own. Can you help? – Betty, Worley, Idaho

Dear Betty: We love chocolate at our house, too. So, we gladly set to work testing recipes for your request.

First, I found a recipe promising to replicate the Chocolate Chocolate Chip muffins sold at Costco using a boxed cake mix. Although the muffins were good (and definitely chocolatey), they weren’t as heavy as the Costco giants. The cake was too light and crumbly.

I found another recipe at allrecipes.com that also said it would make muffins similar to the Costco goodies. Using the reader’s comments, I modified the recipe to come up with a heavier Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin. Although they still aren’t as dense as the original muffins, they’re still delicious and they don’t pack the same caloric hit. Costco’s giant muffins have some 600-plus calories each.

The best part about making these muffins at home: gooey, melted chocolate-studded muffins hot from the oven.

Here are both of the recipes:

Copycat Costco Muffins

From www.recipezaar.com

1 (18.25 ounce) box cake mix (see note)

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix all ingredients together. Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

For Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins, use chocolate cake mix and stir in 11/2 cups chocolate chips.

For Almond Poppyseed Muffins, use a white cake mix, add 2 teaspoons poppyseeds and 1 teaspoon almond extract.

Or, create your own muffins by using any flavor cake mix and stirring in the goodies or your choice. Here are some other suggestions: French vanilla cake mix and fresh raspberries; lemon cake mix and poppy seeds; or, spice cake mix with cinnamon and sugar topping.

Note: The author recommends using Duncan Hines cake mix. We used Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix in Chocolate Fudge with excellent results.

Yield: About 24 muffins

Approximate nutrition per muffin: Unable to calculate.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

6 ounces semisweet chocolate (see note)

1/3 cup unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

12/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

11/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin cups with papers.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate together with the butter. Let stand until cooled, about 10 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs. In a small bowl, stir together the cooled chocolate-butter mixture with the sour cream, milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, soda and salt. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the chocolate mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin cups.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin tin from the oven and let stand at least 5 minutes before removing the muffins and letting them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cooled; muffins can be frozen as well.

Note: Melting 6 ounces of chocolate chips works fine.

Yield: 12-16 muffins

Approximate nutrition per muffin (based on 16): 210 calories, 11 grams fat (6.5 grams saturated, 45 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrate, 38 milligrams cholesterol, 1.4 grams dietary fiber, 59 milligrams sodium.