Hazelnut Mocha Chip Protein Muffins

So...I haven't felt so hot today, but I've had an itch to bake. Having finally picked up spelt flour at Whole Foods last week, I decided on Eggface's protein muffins. But, I was looking for something a bit more decadent than fruit. Nutella is like my favorite thing ever, so what's better than hazelnut mocha chip protein muffins?! Chocolate, coffee, hazelnuts, yum!



3/4 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup chocolate protein powder - used 1.5 scoops Lean Dessert Chocolate Fudge Pudding and 1 scoop Click Mocha, which yielded a bit more than 1/2 cup but it worked
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp sugar free syrup (I used 2 parts vanilla, 1 part SF hazelnut, 1 part Kahlua)
2 tbsp 1% cottage cheese
3 tbsp instant coffee - I'd recommend instant espresso instead
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup chopped Guylian no sugar added dark chocolate

Combine dry ingredients, excluding the coffee but including the hazelnuts and chocolate. Mix together, coating the pieces well. I whizzed the eggs, oil, syrups, vanilla, and coffee in the magic bullet (but mixing by hand is fine) and added to the dry ingredients. Stir until well-combined.

It makes 24 mini muffins, and bakes 12 minutes at 350.

They're a tad over-coffee-y for me, but not bad - now that I've had a second one, I think it's also heavy on the cinnamon. Next time, I may cut the cinnamon to 1/4 tsp, throw a little bit of splenda in it, take the kahlua syrup out, just use hazelnut and vanilla. As for nutrition stats, the nuts and chocolate makes the fat content a bit higher, but it's pretty darn good for the final product!

Attempting on the menu tomororw? My "stuffed shells" meatballs - spinach and cottage cheese. And, if the day goes well, red curry. But there's never enough time on Sunday!