These delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins are soft and moist double chocolate muffins with peanut butter streusel! They're an amazing way to start the day!
Preheat oven to 425° F. Grease muffin pans or line with paper liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder [see note], baking soda, baking powder, and salt). Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine eggs with sour cream, buttermilk (see note), oil, vanilla extract, and chocolate extract (see note). Whisk to combine.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spatula until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
Distribute the batter among 18 wells in your muffin pans (they should be about ¾ full). Place pans in the refrigerator while you make the streusel.
For Streusel:
In a small bowl (or the bowl of a food processor), combine all streusel ingredients except the butter. Whisk (or, if using a food processor, pulse) to combine.
Dice the cold butter and add to the bowl. If using a food processor, pulse until the butter is cut into small pieces (smaller than peas). If cutting in the butter by hand, a pastry blender (see note) or two forks will do the trick.
Sprinkle the streusel on top of the muffin batter, about 1½ tablespoons of streusel per muffin.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425°, then reduce the oven temperature to 375° *without opening the oven door.* Bake the muffins at 375° for 10 minutes, turn the muffin pans around in the oven, then bake for an additional 7 minutes. When done, a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on dutch process cocoa powder: *Not* the same as natural cocoa powder, dutch process cocoa powder is darker and smoother! It's less acidic than regular cocoa powder, so I don't suggest making a substitution here, as the leavening as written in the recipe might not work out.Note on buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk on-hand, you can do a quick substitution with vinegar or lemon juice and milk (2% milkfat or higher). Just put 1 tablespoon of vinegar OR lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, then pour in the milk to the 1 cup line. Stir, let sit 5 minutes, and then it's ready for use! I find that kefir is also a fantastic substitute for buttermilk if you'd like to try that!Note on chocolate extract: I highly recommend this (sometimes overlooked) extract! It lends amazing depth of flavor to chocolate baked goods! If you can't find it in your local grocery store, you can find some here. Even better, make yourself some Homemade Chocolate Extract for next time!Note on peanut butter powder: Powdered peanut butter is made from roasted peanuts that have been pressed to remove their oils, then ground into a powder. All the peanut butter flavor without the fat--which is perfect for this application! If you can't find it in your local grocery store, you can find some here.Note on pastry blender: If you're cutting the butter into the streusel by hand, a pastry blender is a handy tool to use! It's also fabulous when making pie crust! If you don't have one/don't want to purchase one, two forks will do the trick!