Coffee Break Muffins

These also doubled as Happy Birthday muffins for a colleague at work. The name comes from a LOT of coffee added to the batter by both brewed coffee and espresso powder. They had a wonderful coffeehouse fragrance and tasted like a latte that reincarnated into a moist, tasty muffin.

Coffee-Break Muffins (adapted from Baking: from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon instant espresso (or regular coffee) powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (feel free to use more, maybe 1 teaspoon)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1 cup strong coffee, cooled

1 stick (8 tbsps) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper cups, set aside.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, espresso powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Crumble in the brown sugar, making sure there are no lumps. Add mini chocolate chips. Mix gently to combine.

In another bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together the coffee, melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula to combine. Fold only until the dry ingredients are just completely moistened, a few lumps are fine. 

Spoon batter amongst the muffin cups evenly and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or knife, when inserted in the center of a muffin, comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.