Chai Spice Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Sweet, spicy, and studded with dark chocolate: these muffins are perfect for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

So, there have been a lot of muffins (see Apple Oat Streusel and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip) with big Fall flavors  ’round these parts lately.  For this I will not apologize.  Also can we talk about how my computer does not recognize “streusel” as being an actual word?

Continuing on the Fall flavor train, these muffins are pretty aggressively spiced, resulting in prominent chai spice flavor.  I feel like pumpkin spice gets all the action, but we shouldn’t forget about chai.  It’s spicy and warm, and perfect for this time of year.

This recipe is based on the one from these Bakery Style Double Chocolate Muffins.

You’ll need (makes 16-18 muffins):

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 2 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 3.5 oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for a couple of minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla and mix well.

With the mixer on low speed, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and yogurt.

Fold in the the chopped chocolate.

Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tins, filling them all the way to the top. Bake the muffins at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.  This step is crucial to getting those high-domed, bakery style muffin tops.

Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 15 more minutes, or until slightly browned on top and a toothpick/knife, when inserted in the center of each muffin, comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.