Similar to Vita Tops Muffin Recipe

Adapted from Cooking Light
I recently bought a box of Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins from Wholefoods the other day.  I say WOW!  they are a pricey little treat, selling for $6.00 for a box of 4 muffins! However, I have been hearing rave reviews about these 100 calorie muffins for so long that I was curious to see what all the ‘hype’ was about!



If you have ever had a VitaTop, you know exactly how moist and deliciously chocolaty these muffins are.  Well I’m proud that I can finally say that I have created a recipe that will give VitaTop Muffins a run for their money…Literally!!!
And get ready for this… these muffins have EVEN BETTER NUTRITION STATS than a VitaTop Muffin!!! I hope you enjoy this re-make recipe as much as I do, and you never  find yourself shelling-out a ridiculous amount of money on a chocolate muffin again!

Ingredients

1 3/4 c oats

3 egg whites

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup hot water

1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.

Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in chocolate chips. Scoop into prepared muffin pans.

Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing muffins from pan.

Servings: 24 muffins

85 calories per muffin (5g fiber, 5 protein, 21 g carbs, 1g sugar)

• 1 3/4 c oats
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp. vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (OR you could use white chocolate OR peanut butter chips!)
• *Foil cupcake liners, remove the inner paper lining (I say foil, because from experience, paper liners tend to stick to muffins!)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.
3. Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
4. Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
5. Place  the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!
6. Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!