BISQUICK CAPPUCCINO CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

We're getting ready for a garage sale next Saturday, and today I decided I would also incorporate a bake sale at the same time. This will give me a chance to experiment. So today I made two cappuccino muffin recipes. This is the first one. I just took the Bisquick muffin recipe off the box and doctored it with cappuccino flavors. It came out delicious! I used Stonyfield Farms fat-free yogurt in place of some of the milk, and molasses to make the muffins super moist. And I used Wal-Mart Biscuit Mix instead of Bisquick. Here's a tip for getting those big bakery-style crowns on the muffins: Preheat your oven to 500 degrees; fill your muffin tins almost to the top; reduce the oven heat to the regular baking temperature called for by the recipe as soon as you put the muffins in; and reduce the baking time accordingly. You do not need your electric mixer for this recipe. If you don't have a good-quality wire whisk, you might think about buying one. They are worth their weight in gold, and, really, a whisk is what you need to make good muffins. A spatula or mixing spoon just isn't going to give you superior results.

Bisquick Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins

INGREDIENTS: 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2-3/4 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 large egg
6 oz. container fat-free vanilla yogurt + enough milk to make 1-1/4 cups
1 Tbsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. instant coffee granules (decaf is ok) OR instant Espresso powder
2 Tbsp. coffee brandy (such as Kahlua)
3/4 cup mixed chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark + Hershey's milk chocolate,
but any mix of chocolate chips is fine, whatever you like

DIRECTIONS: Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins by greasing, then coating with flour (or use the flour-added non-stick cooking spray). Set aside.

Microwave butter on high in medium-sized bowl till almost melted (about 45 seconds). Measure dry ingredients into large bowl. (Note: Spoon flour lightly into measuring cup after first whisking the flour to aerate it. Muffins need a light hand, not only in the mixing, but also in the measuring. You will be rewarded with light, delicious muffins.) Whisk the dry ingredients together till well combined. Set aside. To the now-somewhat-cooled butter (it should be warm, not blistering hot or it will cook the eggs), add the egg and whisk for a few minutes till mixture gets a little frothy. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients and the coffee granules and whisk again till everything is smooth, a couple of minutes. Be sure you get the lumps of yogurt smoothed out and mixed well. Now make a well in your dry ingredients and add the liquids all at once, but only whisk enough to barely combine. It can be lumpy and it's ok if you can see some flour. It should only take a couple of turns with the whisk. Add the chocolate chips and barely stir them in. Fill each well of the muffin tin with 1/4 cup batter. You should have enough for 12 muffins. Place in oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 400 for shiny pans, 375 for dark and coated pans. Bake for 14-17 minutes, testing at 14 minutes. A toothpick inserted in center should come out almost clean. Remove pan from oven and let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes. They should easily release after 5 minutes. Continue cooling them on a wire rack till completely cooled. They are wonderful warm and also good at room temperature. Any muffins you are not going to eat right away would best be frozen. Yield: 12 muffins