CRUNCHY-TOPPED CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

 

Last fall, I was contacted by the Rogers Group and asked to use one of their Kikkoman recipes and blog about it.  In return, the Rogers Group sent me a basket of Kikkoman products and a $25 gift certificate to purchase a turkey.  I accepted, tweaked their recipe to my liking and found a new family favorite:  Soy-Apple-Brined Grilled Turkey.  We’ve had it several times since last fall and love it more each time. 


This year, the Rogers Group again sent me a basket of Kikkoman products and several recipes to try.  My first was the crunchy-topped chocolate chip muffins of today(originally titled,  “Crunchy Topping Coffee Cake”).  My picky hubbie loved them!  The crispy-crunchy topping, made of pecans, panko breadcrumbs, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, imparts complex flavors to a tender, moist and flavorful muffin filled with semi-sweet chocolate chips.  The muffins are just sweet  enough and really satisfy as a snack or dessert.  For those of you who like sweets for breakfast, this one would be great for Christmas morning!


I used vegetable oil in place of shortening and nonfat Greek yogurt in place of buttermilk in order to bring some healthy notes to the recipe, but I used unbleached all-purpose flour to get the full effect of a tender, light and fluffy muffin.  You’ll get 2 dozen muffins from this recipe, but if you can’t use them all at once, freeze some for later.  They’ll taste fresh if you just nuke them for about 10 seconds, rest 10 seconds, nuke 10 seconds more, let rest 5 minutes. 



Please note:  The free Kikkoman products in no way influenced the writing of this post.  I truly like their products and am happy with what I’ve made with them.
 

Crunchy-Topped Chocolate Chip Muffins Adapted from Kikkoman Crunchy Topping Coffee Cake Rating:  9 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

Topping: 2/3 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp. cinnamon 6 Tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled 2/3 cup Kikkoman Panko Breadcrumbs 2/3 cup toasted chopped pecans Heat oven to 400F (375F for dark or coated pans.)  Adjust oven rack to upper middle position.  Spray 2 (12-cup) standard-size muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.  In medium bowl, combine ingredients with fork.  Set aside.  Muffin: 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2/3 cup sugar 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1 tsp. kosher salt or fine sea salt 1 tsp. baking soda 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil 2 large eggs 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, plain or vanilla flavored 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla.) In large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Stir in chocolate chips. In medium bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.  Pour over dry ingredients and lightly stir with spatula or spoon till just barely combined.  Some lumps are okay.  Do not over mix.  Divide  the thick batter evenly into muffin wells, using about 2-3 Tbsp. per muffin.  Spoon about 1-1/2 tsp. topping over each.  Bake 13-16 minutes (mine took 15 minutes).  Cool in pan 3-4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.    Yield:  24 standard-size muffins

Note:  Find more recipes for Panko, visit kikkomanusa.com/panko.  The site has Buy One, Get One coupons!