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sea salt

Double Chocolate Mini Muffins with Salted Caramel (DF)

November 14, 2019 by Rachael Ng 1 Comment

A couple of mornings ago, I was really in the mood for muffins (a common occurrence this pregnancy), so I asked my toddler what kind she wanted to make. She’s two and she loves chocolate, so that was her answer: chocolate muffins. I thought about it and determined that I couldn’t just make a plain ole chocolate muffin. I needed to make them mini. Add walnuts. And top them with homemade caramel sauce and flakey sea salt. Extra? Totally. Delicious and worth it? Yes!

The muffins themselves are so easy. One bowl. Hardly a mess. And if you have a 24-count mini muffin pan, you can bake them all in one batch that takes less than 10 minutes to bake! And these muffins are good. Like, if you want to forget about the caramel and sea salt all together, then I’m here for it. After all, there’s nothing like a fresh, warm muffin. Especially when melty chocolate chips are involved!

But the caramel drizzle will take these muffins to the next level. It’s a simple recipe and method that I learned from watching Cupcake Jemma, and I highly recommend checking out her Caramel Masterclass video! If you’ve never made caramel before and you’re intimidated, I get it. I won’t even fault you if you choose to go for store-bought for these muffins. But if you make your own, then you’ll feel super accomplished and have tons of delicious caramel leftover to pop onto anything you’d like!

Since my vegan caramels tend to come out thinner and too runny for a drizzle, I re-boil my mixture for 5-10 minutes to thicken them up. You don’t need a candy thermometer and the whole caramel making process (aside from the cooling) should take around 30 minutes. You can even make your caramel the night before, let it totally cool, and then store it in the refrigerator to drizzle on the muffins later. Whatever you choose, have fun and enjoy these bite-sized pieces of dessert heaven!

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Coconut oil lends lots of moisture to these muffins. If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to use another vegetable oil (I prefer olive oil).

Instant coffee adds depth to the chocolate flavor. You can also use espresso powder if you have that on hand. This ingredient is totally optional.

Coconut sugar is my go-to sweetener. It’s low GI and unrefined and tastes nothing like coconut! It’s a perfect replacement for regular white sugar.

Yield: ~24 Mini Muffins

Double Chocolate Mini Muffins with Salted Caramel

Double Chocolate Mini Muffins with Salted Caramel

Bite-sized chocolate mini muffins filled with chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. All topped off with a drizzle of homemade dairy-free caramel sauce and a sprinkling of sea salt!

Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

Vegan Caramel Sauce

  • 1/2 cup coconut cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup water

Chocolate Muffins

  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, liquid
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 large eggs, room temp (or 2 flax eggs if vegan - see note)
  • 1 tsp instant coffee (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup natural cocoa powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, divided
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts pieces (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the caramel sauce: combine liquid coconut cream and vanilla extract; set aside. In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, add the sugar and then the water - don't stir. Swirl the pan gently until sugar is soaked.
  2. Place sugar mixture over medium heat and bring to a boil. Without stirring, boil the mixture until it turns amber in color. The sugar will go from amber to burnt quickly, so keep an eye on it! And do not stir it!
  3. Once the amber color is reached, immediately remove from the heat and place on a towel or hot pad. Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in the coconut cream mixture, being cautious as the mixture is extremely hot and will bubble up!
  4. Return caramel sauce to medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 5-10 minutes or until caramel thickens. Transfer caramel to a room temp, heatproof bowl to cool.
  5. Make the muffins: bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°F and generously spray your mini muffin pan with non-stick spray or line with paper cups/liners.
  6. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, plant-based milk, and eggs. Whisk in the instant coffee and vanilla, and then whisk in the sugar. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a large spatula to gently mix until just combined. Add in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and the walnuts and mix.
  7. Scoop about 1.5 Tbsp of batter into each mini muffin well - nearly to the top. I used a cookie scoop for quick and easy filling. Top the unbaked muffins with the extra 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, lightly pressing the chips into the batter.
  8. Bake muffins at 350°F for 6-10 minutes or until toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out with a few crumbs. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then gently remove them to cool on a cooling rack.
  9. Once muffins are cool, spread the caramel sauce over the tops and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
  10. Allow caramel to set before storing any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Store leftover (and cooled!) caramel sauce in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator.

Notes

  • For vegan muffins: use 2 flax eggs (mix 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp warm water, allow to thicken for five minutes)
  • Be sure to use at least a medium sized pot to make your caramel. The hot sugar mixture will bubble up when you add the coconut cream!
  • To ensure no sugar crystals form in your caramel sauce, do not stir the caramel while it's boiling the first round. Don't scrape the sides of the pan at any point, or otherwise mess with it! Also, allow your caramel sauce to totally cool before transferring it to your refrigerator.
  • When boiling the caramel the second round (to thicken it up) it's okay to stir it a bit.
  • If using melted coconut oil, you'll want the rest of your ingredients, including your eggs, to be room temperature. This ensure your coconut oil will remain in a liquid states while making your batter.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Small Cookie Scoop, 1.5 Tbsp
  • Mini Muffin Pan
    Mini Muffin Pan
© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Breads

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Other chocolate recipes you might like:

Healthier Double Chocolate Banana Bread (DF)
Spicy Hot Cocoa Muffins (DF)
Caramel Turtle Brownies (GF + DF)

Filed Under: Breads, Dairy-free, Muffins Tagged With: caramel, chocolate muffins, double chocolate, mini muffins, sea salt, vegan caramel

Vegan Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies

May 25, 2019 by Rachael Ng 8 Comments

A delicious, plant-based cookie loaded with dark chocolate chunks? I’m so in. These cookies are undetectably vegan, which means they’re good. It took me a few attempts to nail a vegan cookie that is thick, soft, and delicious. I found vegan butter to lend too much of a flavor I wasn’t fond of, and a cookie with all coconut oil was a little crispier than I wanted. But with a mix of olive oil and a bit of coconut oil, the texture of these cookies is perfect!

This recipe calls for two kinds of sugar to make them a little on the healthier side (as coconut sugar is less likely to spike your blood sugar as high as white sugar, honey, or maple syrup). I added a bit of brown sugar to add moisture and flavor to these cookies. The molasses in the brown sugar adds so much to these cookies!

The dough requires no refrigeration (hello, quick cookies!!), but I found that it was best to let the dough balls rest for a few minutes after hand rolling them. This allowed the coconut oil (which melts in our hands) to re-solidify a bit before baking, creating a more even bake amongst all the cookies. But if you’re using a cookie scoop instead of the scoop and roll method, you can bake these babies right away! Just preheat your oven at the start of your mixing.

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Coconut sugar is my favorite, go-to sweetener. It’s unrefined and low glycemic index. It tastes nothing like coconut and makes for a great 1:1 substitute for white sugar.

Brown sugar brings moisture (through the molasses) and flavor to these cookies. I highly recommend using light or dark brown sugar. Brown sugar has more molasses, which means more moisture.

Flaxseed meal mixed with water creates a great egg substitute.

Olive oil adds moisture and softness to these cookies. For a lighter taste, feel free to use light olive oil.

Coconut oil adds moisture and a bit of crunch to the outside of the baked cookies. Since there is so little in this recipe, the taste is unnoticeable, but you can use refined coconut oil to make sure there is absolutely no coconut taste.

Arrowroot starch adds to the chew factor in these cookies. Feel free to use corn starch instead.

Yield: 12 Cookies

Vegan Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Vegan Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Classic Chocolate Chunk Cookies made vegan using a blend of olive and coconut oil and flaxseed meal. Delicious and packed with lots of chocolate, these cookies will please both vegans and non vegans alike!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp coconut oil, liquid (*measured as a liquid)
  • 6 Tbsp olive oil or light olive oil
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp lukewarm water)
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup dairy-free chopped chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
  • Maldon salt to sprinkle

Instructions

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare your flax egg using lukewarm water and allow to thicken for around 5 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the liquid coconut oil and olive oil. Whisk in the coconut sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Finally, whisk in the flax egg until all ingredients are totally combined - it may take a minute for the oil and water to mix together; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, arrowroot starch, and salt. Add in the liquid ingredients and use a large wooden spoon or spatula to mix until nearly combined. Add 1/2 cup of the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips and mix. The dough will be oily, so it's normal for the chocolate to fall away from the dough.
  4. Scoop dough balls 2 Tbsp in size. Press and roll each dough ball smooth, placing pieces of extra chocolate into the tops of each one and reshaping as necessary. Place all of the dough balls onto one parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to rest at room temperature while you preheat your oven to 350°F. This gives the coconut oil a chance to solidify a bit (evenly) across all dough balls.
  5. Bake dough balls 6 at a time at 350°F for 7 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake them! Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt flakes, and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Let your baking sheet cool to room temperature before baking another batch.
  6. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

If you prefer to use only a cookie scoop instead of the scoop and roll method, your cookie dough balls won't need to rest as long. Feel free to bake them right away!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Coconut Sugar
    Coconut Sugar
  • Parchment Paper
    Parchment Paper
  • Cookie Baking Sheets
© Rachael Ng | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Other vegan dessert recipes you might like:

Vegan Chocolate Flax Cookies
Chocolate Chip Muffins (vegan option)
Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake Donuts
Vegan Tahini No-Bake Cookies

Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy-free, Vegan Tagged With: chocolate chip, chocolate chunk, coconut oil, coconut sugar, cookies, dairy-free, olive oil, sea salt, vegan

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Meet Rachael

Hi! I’m Rachael, a home baker who creates dairy-free, indulgent treats. As a sweets lover and former candy addict, I believe we shouldn’t have to give up everything we love in pursuit of wellness. That’s why I create delicious and approachable desserts that you can enjoy, in moderation, no matter your goals! Because, let’s face it, sometimes you just need a giant slice of frosted cake, sans guilt! Read More…

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