Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Muffins

muffinscupChristmas and mint.  How did they become an item?  The red-and-white-swirled candy canes dangling from stuffed stockings?  The tiny pastel-colored, melt-away candies piled in bowls that appear only in December?  The Santa- and snowman-shaped chocolate candies filled with a gooey mint center?  Or maybe the cool of mint recalls drifts of snow and icy winds.  It can’t be helped.  Mint reminds me of Christmas.

This is the classic chocolate cream cheese muffin but without the dairy and a little bit less of the guilt.  I’ll take one of these over a candy cane any day.

A quick but important aside to thank one of my very favorite bloggers – Nicole, of Cauldrons and Cupcakes – for naming An Unrefined Vegan as one of her Blogs of the Year.  If you haven’t met Nicole, do yourself and your psyche a favor and go visit.  Nicole is a gentle, wise and sensitive soul who shares of herself without reservation; her readers reap the benefits.

One year ago today: Onion & Walnut-Stuffed Beer Bread

Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Muffins
Makes ~22

Mint Cream Cheese:
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 tsp. white miso
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tbsp. egg replacer
3 tbsp. nut milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
~1/4 cup cacao nibs

Muffin batter:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. powdered stevia
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups nut milk
1 tbsp. flaxseed meal
4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp. brown rice vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F and line ~22 muffin tins with paper or silicon muffin cups.

Make the cream cheese filling:
In a food processor, add all of the filling ingredients, except for the cacao nibs, and process until very smooth.  Taste and adjust for sweetness and mintiness.  Stir in the cacao nibs.  Set aside.

Make the batter:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and powdered stevia (no, I did not forget to add salt).  In a medium-sized bowl, combine the nut milk, flaxseed meal, applesauce, vinegar and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until thoroughly combined.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full with batter and then top each muffin with a heaping tablespoonful of filling.  Bake for about 20 minutes – do not overbake – and remove from the oven.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so on cooling racks, then remove from the tins.

aerialplatemuffins

aerialmuffins

19 thoughts on “Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Muffins

  1. Becky

    I’m not sure about the origins of mint as a holiday flavor, but I am so glad that it is one! Those muffins look a.ma.ZING!

    Reply
  2. tearoomdelights

    I’d take these over a candy cane too, any day! They look great, and I love your little red and white snowflake plate, very festive.

    Reply
    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      I was never big on candy canes – give me chocolate! I love the plate, too. It came in a pack of four with each one being a bit different – and they’re plastic – so it would be difficult (but not impossible…) for me to break them.

      Reply
  3. Sweet Posy Dreams

    These are pretty, and I just know they taste good too. I’m not much for candy canes, but I’d love one of these!

    Reply
  4. narf77

    They look amazing…and whoever paired chocolate and mint at Christmas was a genius because the two go together so well. You have managed to make them go together even better and these scrumptious looking muffins are going to be made A.S.A.P. to go with a soothing cup of mint tea before the craziness of Christmas sets in :). Cheers for your “natural seditive”…I am sure that many of us will appreciate these as a viable alternative to prozac this Christmas 😉

    Reply
  5. Gabby @ the veggie nook

    Wow love the flavours with the cream cheese- I bet these are ridiculously amazing! And congrats on the award 🙂

    Reply
  6. Somer

    I love your mint cream cheese! I think I could eat it by the spoonful by itself, but I’m sure I would regret not pairing it with the chocolate in the muffins. Just delightful!

    Reply
  7. Cauldrons and Cupcakes

    Ah, you know I love you and your gorgeous blog! These muffins look especially delicious. Mint is not such a big flavour hit Down Under at Christmastime. I guess because it’s summer here and we have such a bountiful feast of fruity flavours. For us, Christmas seems to be more about fruit and alcoholic flavours (rum, brandy, coffee liqueur) and anything chocolate. I could use one of your muffins right now, for an early pre-breakfast snack. With a good cup of tea. Heaven!
    Much love to you xx

    Reply

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