Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

(Original recipe makes 6 muffins)

Ingredients:

½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup boiling water
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
½ cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup pecans or walnuts
½ dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease the muffin cups, using either a nonstick cooking spray or butter.
Whisk the cocoa powder and boiling water until completely mixed. Put aside.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Put aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar and two eggs very well for 3- 4 minutes. Reduce the speed of the electric mixer, add the vanilla and butter. Start to beat the mixture for 2-3 more minutes. Then, add the cocoa mixture. Now, gradually, add the milk and flour. Mix them to the mixture using a fork. After they become thicker, use the electric mixture. In the end, add pecans (or walnuts) and cranberries, and mix them very well. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into your prepared muffin cups. Bake between 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick or a fork inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

My Notes:

• These delicious muffins are not too sweet. If you like to make them sweeter, increase the amount of the sugar to ¾ cup.
• They are very moist and delicious, and they are perfect for your breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea.
• The combination of cocoa, pecans, and cranberries makes the taste of these muffins incredibly good.