Chocolate Muffins

1 3/4 cups oats

3 egg whites

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup hot water

1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
•In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.
•Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
•Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
•Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!
•Cool muffins before removing from pan.



Serving Size: makes 12 regular sized muffins

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHARLENESTEVENS.