Ah, another dairy-free Monday morning muffin.  And this morning I’m enjoying a muffin (or two) from the comfort of my bed as I’ve got the day off work.  Last Monday I also had a lazy breakfast, though it wasn’t quite as relaxing – that was the morning that Typhoon Usagi hit Hong Kong.  It blew into town on the Sunday evening, after a few days of hype and worry.  We get hit by a few typhoons during this season and generally take them in our stride, almost willing them to gather strength to reach T8 status so schools and offices close.  This one was a bit different though, billed as the biggest storm of the year, and on course for a direct hit.  There was even evidence of panic buying, and there was scarcely a loaf of bread to be found in the city (or on my road, at least).

Though the typhoon did cause deaths in China and the Philippines, luckily for us it weakened and deviated from its projected path and ended up being no worse than any other typhoon we’ve had.  It was simply a Sunday night spend indoors (and I can’t fathom why anyone would want to be outdoors on a Sunday night anyway), and a Monday morning off work.  This sounds lovely, but the alarm still had to be set for the morning just to check it was still T8, and constant updates were required to check when it was time to head in to school.  So the muffins were a welcome treat on that morning, but they’re even more luxurious this morning when I know I have an entire day at liberty.  Hurray!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

1.5 tbsp baking powder

125g sugar

pinch salt

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.75 cup non-dairy milk (I used soy milk)

5 tbsp peanut butter

60g dark chocolate, chopped

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 190C and line a muffin tin with paper cases.

2.  Mix the dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) together in a large bowl.

3.  Pour in the milk and vanilla and mix to form a smooth batter.

4.  Beat in the peanut butter – a bit of elbow grease is required to get it nice and smooth.

5.  Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.

6.  Spoon into the paper cases, filling them about two thirds full.  It’s quite a sloppy batter, so you may want to transfer it to a jug and pour it in rather than spooning it over.

7.  Bake for 20 minutes.

8.  Stand in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.