These rich, chocolatey muffins with a hint of espresso are the perfect pick-me-up! They’re also grain-free, refined sugar free, and incredibly easy to make.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am a total morning person. As in, I’m one of those obnoxious people that LOVES mornings and wakes up with immediate energy. Even when I was in middle and high school I would regularly wake up at 4 or 5 am and read, listen to music, do homework and make myself breakfast. Is that weird to do when you’re 12? I guess I never claimed to be the poster child for “normal.”
I have always loved how quiet and calm mornings are. I’m a huge introvert and need my quiet alone time to recharge. I learned at a young age the best time to get such time was at an ungodly hour.
These days, not much has changed. I still wake up ridiculously early to enjoy my alone time, and I’ve also grown to be the a huge fan of AM workouts. I know, you guys are sick of me talking about morning exercise (and trying to convince you to do it) so I’ll save it for another post.
Mornings are my happy energetic time where I’m much more focused and productive. From the time I wake up, until about 2 pm I’m in the zone. But once that mid to late afternoon slump hits, I crash.
I crash hard.
If left up to my own devices I go from functioning human to absolute blob. I am overcome with sleepiness. My brains turn to mush. It’s not pretty. Thankfully, I’m resourceful. I have learned that a strategically placed afternoon snack, chugging some water and a quick walk can whip me right back into shape. Now to be clear, I never have the same zest at 4:30 pm that I do at 4:30 am. It’s just not a thing that happens. But I can get pretty darn close. Enter: these muffins.
These bad boys are delicious and can pick you up from the dreaded afternoon crash while also satisfying your sweet tooth. Plus, let’s be real, chocolate and coffee go together like Justin and Britney circa 1999. Just the best pair. They’re:
Soft
Chocolatey
Have a hint of coffee flavor
Grain-free/gluten-free/paleo-friendly
Come together in under a half hour
Are generally the bombay of the day
Break you off a piece of this.
- ¼ Cup Coconut Flour
- ¼ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Coffee or Espresso
- Dash of Salt
- 3 Eggs, whisked
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Banana, mashed
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Chocolate Chips, chopped
- Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare a muffin tin with liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda, salt and ground coffee. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, mashed banana, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined and a thick batter forms.
- Fold in chocolate chip pieces.
- Transfer batter to muffin tin filling about ⅔ of the way (I like using an ice cream scoop for consistency).
- Bake at 375F for ~20 minutes or until muffins are set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool, and store in a sealed container in the fridge.
What are your favorite ways to get out of an afternoon slump?
Oh my yum! (OMY – it’s my new thing :P)
I don’t think I’m naturally a super early morning person but I do LOVE mornings. So much energy and potential and opportunity. I’ve recently started working out in the AM and love it. But yeah by 3pm I wish I could just be done with work and go home… aww well
Also yay introverts!
OMY…love it. Using it. And I’m so glad to hear you’re loving the AM workouts! They really are the best.
These look so good! I am a morning person, but I do sometimes have a hard time getting up. Having a good breakfast waiting for me always makes it easier!
Totally agree! Breakfast is always worth getting out of bed for 😉
Yum—these are great! I made these after a Saturday morning workout and they were a perfect mid morning pick me up. Not too sweet and love the hint of coffee flavor
I’m so glad you liked them! They are the perfect pick me up!
I have a question for you. Is it instant coffee? Or regular coffee grounds in this recipe?
I used regular! Instant should work too, you just may want to use a little less