Super Skinny Chocolate Muffins {copycat Vitatops}

If ya don't like chocolate, you're at the wrong place today (and uhhh, how are we friends? Just kidding.) I know there are some people who just don't care for chocolate. Some of these people even share my same genetic pool. I truly don't understand it. Anyway...these are for the chocolate fans out there. Especially the chocolate fans who loooove chocolate, but don't necessarily care to wear their fat pants on a daily basis. These be some skinny muffins. Pinky swear.

and yes, I ate both of these as soon as I took the picture.

Super Skinny Chocolate Muffins {copycat Vita Tops}

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey's Dark)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used cinnamon, b/c it's all we had!)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain yogurt)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water (I think coffee could be used here too)
• 1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute (I used half Splenda and half xylitol) Update: I prefer to use half stevia or xylitol and half real sugar. 
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (or use cupcake liners).
• Using a food processor (or a blender), blend all of the ingredients together except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (Note: grinding oats first, before adding other ingredients may make it easier to get a smooth consistency. I still had a few pieces of oats, but I was fine with that.)
• Pour mixture into prepared muffin pans. These aren't going to rise a lot, so you can fill them pretty full for larger muffins, or about half to 2/3rds for the traditional VitaTop look. Add a few chocolate chips to each muffin cup (about half of them) to ensure each muffin has chips in it. (If you add them to the batter bowl, they all just sink to the bottom.) The other half of the chips will be added to the tops in the next step. If you don't want any on top, add them all now. 
• Place muffin tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin. This just makes them look all pretty and like VitaTops. 
• Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes (mine took 5-7), or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Source: Lady's Little Loves

We got 12 decent sized muffins for 3 points plus each. I think next time I will make them smaller. I haven't had Vita Top muffins in a while, but from what I remember, these are pretty darn close. I thought they were good, and my kids thought they were okay, but not great...but they don't have to worry about fat pants and 41 year old metabolisms. ugh. This recipe also does not contain flour, so I'm assuming could easily be made gluten free.



Thanks to DIY Vintage Chic for featuring this recipe!

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