Moist chocolate muffins flavored with coffee and pecans with a super crunchy top. Perfect for a morning or afternoon snack.
Spontaneity isn’t my strong suit, but when Erez asked me if I’d like to go on a last minute trip, how could I have possibly turned that down? With a fast decision and a small suitcase, we found ourselves in magical Sicily. Besides eating an enormous amount of pizza and gelato all day long, we had no idea what to expect from the island, but clearly it exceeded our expectations.
The streets of Sicily have a classic European atmosphere, with plenty of archeological sites and buildings. Things are relatively cheap, the beaches are beautiful, the hotels are done a charming boutique style, the views are breathtaking, and the people are welcoming and smiling all the time. Life seems good in Sicily, which is why I keep asking Erez if we can please move there. But he ignores me, saying that I ask that about every place we visit. He might have a point.
Although the time I spent in Sicily inspired me to make some ricotta and pistachio-based desserts, this morning, sweet thoughts about the trip were still floating around in my head, leaving a silly smile spread over my face. I just want to take this morning easy, sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee in one hand and a giant muffin in the other. Yep, that sounds like a good plan.
These muffins are moist, flavorful, and very chocolatey with a super crunchy top and a half-bread/half-cake texture. They’re the kind of muffins you hope to find at your favorite bakery. While I added plenty of notes for the recipe, just know that it is amazing as-is. The amount of coffee really is up to you, so just experiment with it.
- 1 1/2 cups (210g/7.4 oz.) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (50g/1.7 oz.) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon , optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz.) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g/3.5 oz.) light brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 1 large egg , slightly beaten
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) strong espresso or brewed coffee, cooled
- 1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts , coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
- 2 tablespoons coarse/turbinado/demerara/brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
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Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Butter 12 muffin cups or line them with liner papers.
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In a large bowl, sift together flour and cocoa powder. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and sugars and mix to combine.
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In a medium bowl, mix together egg, milk, coffee, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula just until combined. Do not overmix. The batter should be quite thick and lumpy. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.
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Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cups. Make the topping by tossing together sugar, pecans, and chocolate chips in a small bowl, then sprinkle evenly on top of the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and let cool completely.
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Muffins will keep for 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months. To thaw, leave them on the counter, still covered, or overnight in the fridge.
- This recipe provides a very subtle hint of coffee. If you want a stronger coffee flavor, use a double shot espresso. Alternatively, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of instant coffee granules (combine with the milk or hot coffee until dissolved) or espresso powder (mix with the dry ingredients).
- If the espresso liquid measures either less or more than 1/4 cup, simply change the amount of milk accordingly. The milk and espresso should be a total of 1 cup.
- For more of a mocha flavor rather than chocolate, reduce the cocoa powder by 1/4 cup.
- You can substitute the butter with 1/2 cup neutral oil such as canola, vegetable, or safflower.
48 Comments
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April 30, 2015 at 2:29 pmThey look so chocolatey and inviting. I love the add of espresso in them. Wonderful clicks, as always!
Shiran
May 2, 2015 at 8:44 amThank you Angie! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche
April 30, 2015 at 11:37 pmThese chocolate espresso muffins I seriously am SO enamoured with. You definitely can consider I will be making the recipe Shiran – they look wicked, decadent and delicious. Pinned!
Shiran
May 2, 2015 at 8:46 amThank you for the sweet comment Thalia! 🙂
Samantha
January 11, 2022 at 8:41 pmDelicious and easy to make!
I have been trying to find a recipie that blends well with protein powder and this takes the cake! For anyone interested. You can sub 1/3 of a cup of flour for protein powder (i used pea protein) and they come out brilliant! We also halved the amount of sugar and they are still sweet enough while being much healthier 🙂
Anne
May 1, 2015 at 10:04 pmOMG I LOVE HOW YOU USED PANETTONE MOLDS!!! That is such a genius idea!!! Love how substantial they look, and so chocolatey too.
So glad you’re enjoying your time in Italy. I want to go there so bad but unfortunately with school, impromptu trips are out of the question… :/
Shiran
May 2, 2015 at 8:58 amThank you Anne! The molds do fit perfectly 🙂 I really enjoyed my time in Italy! It’s such a beautiful place, and besides, vacations are always fun no matter where you go!
Renee
May 1, 2015 at 10:49 pmNow you’re talking!!!! I love good coffee and this post just got my attention! Plus who doesn’t need a extra caffeine in their diet 🙂
Shiran
May 2, 2015 at 9:00 amThanks Renee 🙂 I LOVE coffee. I don’t know if I could ever live without it!
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg
May 5, 2015 at 6:31 amShiran – I am obsessed with both chocolate and espresso. Why have I never had the two in a muffin? These would be the perfect pick me up on a weekday morning. Your photographs are beautiful.
Shiran
May 6, 2015 at 4:45 amI was asking myself the same thing before I made them! It’s a match made in heaven 🙂 Thank you so much Erin!
Manali @ CookWithManali
May 14, 2015 at 4:40 pmThese look just perfect! Gorgeous pictures 🙂
Shiran
May 14, 2015 at 5:55 pmThank you so much Manali 🙂
Shelly
February 10, 2016 at 10:03 amYour muffins look beautiful!! What type of cocoa powder did you use to get such a dark color?
Shiran
February 10, 2016 at 10:10 amThank you, Shelly! 🙂 I use natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process).
Angela
March 9, 2016 at 8:34 amHi Shiran! Those moist muffins look amazing!! Is it ok if the walnuts and pecans are omitted??
Shiran
March 9, 2016 at 11:25 amSure Angela, it’s fine 🙂
Candi
June 14, 2016 at 7:40 pmCan I turn this into a loaf instead of muffins?
Shiran
June 15, 2016 at 7:14 amHi Candi, these muffins have a half-bread/half-cake texture which is perfect for muffins so I prefer baking them in a muffin pan. If you don’t mind the texture, you can try baking it in a cake pan instead (maybe add an extra egg).
Julia
July 8, 2016 at 7:02 pmJust made these muffins! They’re absolutely lovely! They’re super chocolatey and not too sweet. Thank you for the fantastic recipie!
Shiran
July 10, 2016 at 3:36 amThank you so much for your comment, Julia! 🙂
Stephanie
October 4, 2016 at 1:38 pmThis recipe is perfection! This is definitely going to be a regular at my house. Thank you so much for sharing all of these amazing recipes
Shiran
October 5, 2016 at 6:04 amThank you so much, Stephanie!
Sheryl
April 18, 2017 at 3:37 pmI just made these wonderful muffins. They are so good and very hard to resist eating every one of them. Chocolate and coffee can never be wrong. I will definitely make these again and again. Even my very picky granddaughter liked them. She does not like anything. I also added some oats to the topping.
Shiran
April 19, 2017 at 7:47 amThank you so much Sheryl!
Michaela
May 24, 2017 at 3:35 amI made these and I can’t believe I did haha.
So moreish and amazingly chocolatey. I’m pregnant currently and I’ve ran out of De-caf (I drink A LOT of coffee, always have)
so I put normal espresso in these and they have helped my coffee cravings. Did I say I put in a double shot? SO GOOD!
lamia
July 17, 2018 at 8:16 pmHello
These look delectable! One question though, all i have is a bar of dark chocolate, can i chop it up and use it like that? If so, how many grams would equal half a cup for the recipe?
Thanks
Shiran
July 20, 2018 at 10:12 amYes you can, just use 1/2 cup of chopped chocolate or about 80 grams.
Mahdis
August 1, 2019 at 12:16 pmI just made these muffines.they are incredibly delicious and beautiful.
Thanks alot for your great recipe.
Lee
September 9, 2018 at 4:36 pmMade these today for my chocolate-loving spouse, who was practically in tears with how good they were! I love how the cinnamon really came through, and we FINALLY had a use for some coffee a friend gave us that was too strong to drink, but absolutely perfect to work into this batter. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! Will make again.
Shiran
September 10, 2018 at 7:22 amI’m so glad! Thank you so much, Lee!
nuphar
September 21, 2018 at 10:43 amlooks amazing! can’t wait to make them!
i wonder if they will work as a cake? not muffins?
Shiran
September 24, 2018 at 8:33 amIt’s possible, it will be more like bread than cake in texture.
Lynnette Steward
October 1, 2018 at 9:47 pmPretty darn good….!
I’ll be making these again!
Patricia
November 27, 2018 at 1:34 pmThese look delicious. Do you think that leaving out the nuts would make a huge difference?
Shiran
November 29, 2018 at 1:11 pmIt adds a nice texture to the cake, but the cake is delicious without it.
Elizabeth
February 27, 2019 at 9:55 pmI am baking these right now! Having tasted the batter, I think I want to try it with less cinnamon or none next time, but maybe I’ll feel differently when I eat the baked muffin! The topping looks great and I’m so excited to share these with my coffee-loving barista boyfriend. ☺️
Kaitlyn Friesen
March 18, 2019 at 1:25 pmlovely muffins. i made them and they looked picture perfect. and they TASTED delish as well! thanks for the recipe.
riya
August 9, 2019 at 3:31 amThose muffins looks so yummyyyyyyy
I just love muffins and the expresso coffee.. and this one that too a muffin with expresso flavour…
Deeksha
June 16, 2020 at 5:04 amThank you for sharing this amazing muffin recipe. I definitely try this recipe.
Graham
September 13, 2020 at 11:12 pmGreat recipe! I swapped the sugars for honey, and the butter for applesauce.
Still turned out great, and will definitely make again.
Madeleine
February 21, 2021 at 9:07 pmThese muffins are so good! They’re moist and delicious. I love the perfect little flat tops!
The directions are clear and easy to follow. Thank you for your wonderful notes at the end. I prefer using oil instead of butter, and I appreciate your having figured out the substitution ratio for me. I also put in only 1/4 cup cocoa powder and ended up with perfect mocha muffins. The only other thing I changed was subbing out the 1/2 cup nuts for an extra 1/2 cup chocolate chips since I’m not a nuts-in-baked-goods person.
Bryce Walker
March 20, 2021 at 12:06 pmI love this recipe. I iust amde them this morning and i mixed the suagra with the wet ingredients firsy, but that was accidental 😅. Put my friends and I love them so much.
Felisita Sinartio
June 20, 2021 at 10:24 amHi I was wondering for the mixing part – should I use a hand mixer or just a spatula?
Shiran
June 21, 2021 at 1:48 amJust a spatula, no need to use a mixer 🙂
Cupcake Mama Sia
November 5, 2021 at 12:34 amAbsolutely delicious! Just omitted the nuts.
Samantha
January 11, 2022 at 8:42 pmDelicious and easy to make!
I have been trying to find a recipie that blends well with protein powder and this takes the cake! For anyone interested. You can sub 1/3 of a cup of flour for protein powder (i used pea protein) and they come out brilliant! We also halved the amount of sugar and they are still sweet enough while being much healthier 🙂
Cupcake Mama Sia
May 26, 2022 at 2:13 amJust made these. easy to whip up and delicious!