Da College Life. Aw Yeah.

I definitely just made a giant un-muffin in the toaster oven I bought for twenty bucks yesterday. Somehow I think this means I'm a college kid.

Other things that have defined the first week of my college life:

Watching the Republican National Convention with a bunch of cool people, including the most awesome Scholar-Family-in-Residence ever. Because being informed is our responsibility! Also, Mister Mitt McRomneyface makes me laugh. Sometimes. 

Beautiful full moons over the nighttime campus.

Homework. Blugh. 

A cute little concert on the Library Mall. 

And a big concert on the fair grounds!

A somewhat crazy concert. 

With Reggie Watts. 

And The Black Lips. 

And VIP passes. 

And giant water slides. 

Oh, and flamingos of course. 

Because what is life without some flamingos along the way?

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Muffins!

I made these muffins yesterday in an attempt to bring some sunshine back into an otherwise dreary day. And it worked! They are freaking delicious, perfect with their dense but not too sweet flavor, fresh strawberries, and just enough chocolate! Yum!

So, without further ado, MAKE THESE MUFFINS!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used all-purpose, but there's no rule against whole wheat!)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 egg

1 cup sugar

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 1/4 cups sour cream or natural Greek yogurt (I used the yogurt with no problems)

1 cup(ish) fresh strawberries or thawed frozen (I used fresh and you can just kind of guestimate based on how much strawberry goodness you want in each muffin)

3/4 cup chocolate chip of your choice (semi-sweet was nice)

Chocolate drizzle:

     3 Tbsp chocolate chips

     1/2 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Oven: 425F

Pan: Large muffin tin, lined and greased and ready to go! (Although honestly I always do this last...hehe)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in your largest bowl. This shall henceforth be known as the "dry bowl". 

Now in your second largest bowl, whisk (ahem, I definitely just used a wooden spoon) the egg until yolk and white are just combined and lightish yellow. Dump in the sugar and combine. Add the butter in three additions, whisking together sloooooooowly. Then gently add in the sour cream/yogurt and mix until just combined. Do not overmix! This is very important. I don't know why, but it is. This is henceforth known as the "wet bowl".

Add the strawberries and chocolate chips to the dry bowl and mix up until the strawberries look weird all covered in flour. It's okay. That's good. Then slowly dump the contents of the wet bowl into the dry bowl in three additions, and fold slowly and carefully until all the dry ingredients are wet. Again, don't overmix. This batter will be quite thick. 

After that, you know the drill--spoon batter into muffin tins, but this time make sure you fill them all the way up. The batter won't rise an incredible amount so you want the tins pretty full. Then bake them at 425F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350F and bake for another 20-22 minutes. Let them cool for five minutes while you melt the butter and chocolate together (I had a stupid amount of trouble with this--shut up) and then drizzle (or plop) the mixture over the muffins. When they've cooled a bit longer, invite your friends over and eat them all! It'll probably make about a dozen muffins. 

Enjoy!

302 cal/muffin (1/12 of recipe)
With healthy substitutions (butter > apple sauce, fat-free sour cream, sugar substitute, no chocolate drizzle) = 169 cal/muffin (1/12 of recipe)

(From Sally's Baking Addiction)

(Thanks Mom for successfully melting the chocolate and putting it on the cupcakes.)