Chocolate Orange Muffins (Vegan)
Deep, rich chocolate and sweet orange come together for the best moist chocolate orange muffins. Think: the best chocolate cake ever + chocolate orange flavor = these guys!
Servings: 9 -12 muffins (9 large muffins or 12 medium muffins)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour - if using homemade make sure it’s very finely ground—not coarse.
- ½ cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 3 tablespoons orange zest about 1 large orange
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Add-in Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Optional Topping
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
- Orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add water and milk to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 10-second increments until just warm. This will prevent the melted coconut oil from solidifying once mixed with these liquids.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients: water, milk, orange juice, orange zest, coconut oil, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Whisk until just incorporated, making sure no flour patches remain. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared muffin pan—filling each cup about 3/4 of the way for a greater quantity of smaller muffins, or all the way to the top for a smaller quantity of big, domed-top muffins. Optionally, press chocolate chips and orange zest into the tops of each muffin.
- Bake for 20-26 minutes (on the higher end for larger muffins). Mine took 24 minutes for larger muffins. Insert a toothpick to test for doneness—it should come out mostly dry, with a few muffin bits on it.
- Place muffin pan on a cooling rack to cool for 30 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin pan and continue cooling on rack until completely cool, 1-3 hours.
- Enjoy! Storing instructions below.
Notes
Storing Instructions: Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Freezing Instructions: Store muffins carefully in a freezer-friendly, airtight container for 1-2 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before enjoying. Or, heat in the microwave in 10-second increments until warm.
Serving suggestion: After muffins completely cool, they’re firmer, drier and ready to store. To enjoy as if they’re fresh-baked (like an hour ago!): heat in 10-second increments until just warm. SO good! They’ll become soft and moist again. :)