Recipe: Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Muffins

I have one word for these muffins: scrumptious. Scrumptious, scrumptious, scrumptious. I discovered this recipe about two months ago I'd say, and I've made it at least 5 times. And every time the entire batch disappears in like a day. Maybe a day and a half if we're not feeling particularly snackish in our house on that particular day. I've modified the recipe slightly to make the muffins lighter than the original, which I found here.

Anyways, your first step is easy. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and either grease a muffin tray or line it with muffin cups.

In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another, whisk together the egg and sugar. Then slowly mix in the melted butter and sour cream. The finished mixture should look something like this:

Next, add the chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts to the liquids and toss to coat. Fun fact that I learned from my grandmother: you can freeze macadamia nuts to keep them fresh until you need them.

Once you've mixed in the chocolate and nuts, then it's time to add the dry ingredients. The important thing here is not to overmix it. A few lumps are still fine when you're done. If you stick to the original recipe, these muffins turn out quite dense, so I like to add an extra 1/4 cup of milk or so at this stage, but that's up to you. The finished batter should look something like this:

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, making sure to distribute the batter as evenly as possible. I find this recipe usually makes about a dozen very large muffins or 15-16 smaller muffins. It's up to you and the size of your muffin tray. :)

Throw the muffins in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until they're slightly golden brown on the top. These muffins are pretty pale even when they're cooked through. You don't want to overdo it!

Pull them out of the oven, and enjoy them fresh and warm when the chocolate chips are still melted. Mmmmmmm.

Here's the full recipe:

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Muffins:


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (if you use salted macadamia nuts, omit the salt)
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/4 unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup milk (optional)

Directions;

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line with muffin cups. Set aside.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg until combined, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk until the mixture is thick and thoroughly combined. Slowly whisk the butter into the mixture until combined. Add half the sour cream, whisking until just combined, repeat with the remaining sour cream.

4. Add the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts to the flour mixture and toss to coat.

5. Add the flour to the sour cream mixture and fold with a spatula until combined and the chips and nuts are evenly distributed, but do not overmix.

6. Evenly divide the batter in between the cups of the muffin pan. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until very light golden brown colour and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the muffins to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.