Chocolate Strawberry Muffins (or the Dream Muffin)

My friend Dana was the one who convinced me to try these adorable looking muffins we had both seen on Pinterest (yes, we talk about Pinterest recipes and probably for a good 40% of the time we're together). I can't think of one thing involving chocolate and strawberries that hasn't tasted like it's straight out of heaven, so I was sold. The best part about these has got to be the fact that they're also guilt free. Applesauce takes the place of butter and oil, while strawberries have tons of antioxidants. 

These were extremely simple to throw together and turned out to be absolutely delicious. Of course you can tell that they're "skinny", but they're so tasty and satisfy my sweet craving that hasn't gone away since it was cookie season. Hope you enjoy them!

Chocolate Strawberry Muffins 

Yield: 10 muffins Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 15-18 minutes 

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup & 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce 
1 egg white, beaten
2/3 cup diced strawberries, fresh or frozen
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl then set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar and applesauce. Stir egg white into applesauce mixture until incorporated. Side note: A fork worked well for this step in breaking up the clumps of brown sugar. 

3. Add applesauce mixture to dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Gently fold in strawberries and chocolate chips. 

4. Lightly coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill 10 muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test. Side note: Our old school oven wasn't doing well with baking them evenly, so they truly baked over a range of 15-18 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, I tested them every minute or so and took individual muffins out to cool when they were done. 

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction