Whole Wheat Chocolate Yogurt Muffins

Do you remember Poker Face by Lady Gaga? It was released in 2008 and almost as soon all the bars and clubs were playing it. It seeped into your car through the radio and then into your brain. Before long, you knew precisely what the next line was going to be because somehow, inadvertently you knew all of the lyrics. The song is full of puns on gambling and romance like "I want to hold 'em like they do in Texas." There is also a phrase where she says she's "bluffin' with [her] muffin." Do you ever wonder what she really meant by that?

While it still puzzles me how the radio version got past the FCC, it turns out you can legitimately bluff when it comes to muffins. Case in point: how can you make chocolate muffins healthful while preserving the almost sinful taste and the velvety, moist, crumbly texture?

You bluff.

Use whole wheat flour (stone ground, for grainier, more wholesome texture), unsweetened cocoa, low-fat yogurt, and coconut oil. My actual reason for making these was simply that this is what I had on hand. I ran out of all-purpose flour, I had a full tub of low-fat yogurt but no milk, and I had a neither-here nor-there amount of coconut oil left from my vegan tartlet experiments from earlier. So I decided to make these for breakfast, and at the last minute I thought that cocoa would be a nice compliment to the coconut oil, at least in theory (as I mentioned before, coconut oil is rather tasteless).

They are grainy, delicious, filling and not too sweet. One of the things I love about homemade muffins is that you can always wrap any left-over ones in plastic wrap and grab one for breakfast the next (and the following) day as you're running out the door.

A little gambling is fun when you're with me/I love it

Whole Wheat Chocolate Yogurt Muffins
(Makes 12)

You will need:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup water or milk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted to a clear liquid
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a 12-muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together yogurt, egg, and water or milk. Add coconut oil and vanilla, and whisk until the oil has blended with the other ingredients. Fold the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture. Distribute among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until tops are a rich dark brown and lightly crisp. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Serve, or wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and grab as needed for snack or breakfast on-the-go.