The idea for this muffin was born after experimenting for weeks with my favorite Hershey’s cocoa recipe. When you spend a long time in the deep freeze surrounded by snow, there is nothing you wish for more than some tropical sunshine, and that is exactly the taste of this delicious chocolate monkey muffin. Plus, the cashews and bananas will actually add a lot of great nutrition for your kids (watch out for nut allergies though!). My secret ingredient is a spoon of Nutella – our breakfast favorite – which adds an extra layer of chocolate and a nice blend of hazelnuts to the mix. Your monkeys will go crazy for this super muffin!
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped salted cashews
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup (skim) milk
- 1/4 cup tropical or fruit punch juice
- 1/2 mashed banana
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 tbsp Nutella
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
2. Add the egg, milk, juice, mashed banana, vegetable oil and vanilla. Mix well to blend everything together.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Chop the cashews and fold into the bowl along with the raisins, mix well. Note, there is no extra salt in the recipe, since you are using salted nutes. If your cashews are unsalted, add a tsp of salt.
4. Add the 1/2 cup of boiling water, stir everything well.
4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
