Nigella's Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

I'm on a Nigella kick and may be for a while. She rarely lets you down in the kitchen (we just won't mention her plastic lime phase, okay?) And with all the cooking I'm doing this time of year, I like to pretend she's actually in the kitchen with me. I suppose you could say it's my culinary version of singing in the shower, though possibly weirder and more disturbing. Hopefully none of my readers are psychologists.

Anyway my sweet mother in law is coming for a visit today so I made these to have on hand for an easy breakfast or snack. If there are any more diehard chocoholics out there than she and my husband, I'd like to meet them and possibly have them studied for scientific purposes. The funny thing about chocolate is, even as a person who often thinks it's over-rated and over-hyped, I usually end up being the one to finish up the last piece of chocolate cake, or in this case, muffin.

Wow, in just one post I've revealed that I'm not only somewhat delusional but that I sometimes cook with imaginary friends. I'll stop writing now.

Nigella's Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips plus more for sprinkling on top
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray (or fill with paper cups.) Set aside.

Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. Measure the wet ingredients into a large measuring cup or medium bowl, whisking or stirring well to break up the egg. Make a well in the dry ingredient bowl, then add about half the wet mixing with a spatula or spoon just until blended (don't over mix or you'll have chocolate bricks instead of muffins.)

Add the rest of the wet and mix again, JUST until mixed. Divide the batter evenly between the cups and sprinkle over the additional chocolate chips.

Bake for 16-20 minutes until the muffins have risen and become firm and springy. Let sit in the tins for a few minutes to finish setting before removing to a wire rack (though to be honest I often forget to remove them for a couple of hours and all ends well.)

Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days or freeze.