Rocky Road Muffins

Is it just me or does the days going by way too fast? November seemed like it just started but it just hit me Thanksgiving will only be a few days from now. Next thing, Christmas will be around and we'll be welcoming 2012 --Ack, I'm certainly not ready for the holidays just yet.

There's been a whirlwind of events in my family lately: celebrating three birthdays in one week and a 11-11-11 wedding of my little cousin definitely made for a busy household. My busier work schedule this week have definitely made me feel like I can't seem to catch up! So an unexpected weekend off from work was just what I needed to slow down a little, take a deep breath and BAKE!

These Rocky Road muffins were very simple to put together. Chocolate and nuts along with marshmallows were stirred into a chocolaty batter and topped with even more chocolates and nuts; they made for a scrumptious muffin. While I was prepping my ingredients the night before,I realized I didn't have mini marshmallows on hand. I got too lazy and didn't really want to go out in the cold to buy them so figured I make them. Making marshmallows from scratch is really easy (and fun for me, watching my boys trying to handle the sticky goo). I've made marshmallows before, the recipe can be found here.

And apparently my pantry contained all the nuts in the world except walnuts, the ones originally asked for in the recipe. No matter, I just used a little bit of each nuts and even cracked several macadamias to add in there. I really like the result of putting a variety of nuts in these muffins, they gave a different flavor and texture to each bite. I would even go ahead and add more nuts next time I bake these.

So something chocolaty that's not overly sweet you can enjoy first thing in the morning. Truly a great muffin to start the day. Oh, but my family couldn't help themselves, we enjoyed these with a cup of hot cocoa, topped with marshmallows, of course! :)

Rocky Road Muffins

280g (2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
15g (1 TBSP) baking powder
5g (1 tsp) salt
15g (3 TBSP) cocoa powder
60g mini marshmallows
75g milk chocolate chips
60g (1/2 cup) nuts
150g (2/3 cup) brown sugar
200g (3/4 cup) milk
2 large eggs
75g butter, melted

1. Preheat oven 400F degrees. Prepare muffin pan either by greasing or using liners; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Stir in the marshmallows and set aside.
3. Combine the nuts and chocolate chips together. Set aside 1/3 cup and add the remaining to the flour mixture.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, eggs and butter. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Portion batter into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle tops with reserved nut-chocolate chip mixture. Bake for 16-18 minutes.
6. Remove and let cool on rack for 5 minutes. Then remove from pan and serve.

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