Finally, a Versatile Chocolate Muffin!

I used to buy occasionally those little cookbooks that you find at supermarket checkouts, back before I really got hooked on websites like http://www.foodnetwork.com/, http://www.recipezaar.com/, and all of the specialty recipe sites out there. Some of those little books looked good but I rarely used. Others have been used heavily. One of those heavily used is a Betty Crocker holiday cookbook. In it is a recipe I've been meaning to try for several years and just never got around to doing it: chocolate pistachio bread. Now I've been searching for chocolate muffin recipes, and I remembered that recipe and gave it a try. The longest part of preparation was the shelling of the pistachios, and little C helped with that which made it more fun (not necessarily faster but definitely more fun). These - or a variation - would be a great addition to a Christmas gift basket, holiday brunch, or snack tray. Tender, moist, rich chocolate flavor, the light flavor and crunch of the pistachio pieces, the crunch of the crusty top on the muffin all make this one to repeat. Don't like pistachios? Don't fret! Substitute chopped dried cherries, dried blueberries, chopped walnuts, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or whatever else you like to combine with chocolate and is no larger than a chocolate chip!

2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted (I used Blue Bonnet margarine)
3/4 c. milk (I used Silk plain soy milk)
1 egg (I used 1/4 c. Eggbeaters)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pistachio nuts (I cheated and did 1 c. of pistachio nuts then chopped them)
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
coarse sugar crystals (decorating sugar), if desired

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease bottom and sides of loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches, with shortening (I used 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin.)
2. Mix sugar, butter, milk, and egg in a large bowl until well blended.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients except decorating sugar. (I stirred in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, then gently stirred in the chopped pistachio nuts and chocolate chips.)
4. Spread into prepared pan (or scoop into muffin tin - the wells of the muffin tin were 3/4 full, about 1/3 c. batter per muffin). Sprinkle with sugar crystals.
5. Bake 50-55 minutes (for muffins, mine came out at 22 minutes) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (really look at the toothpick - it won't come out clean if you ran through a melted chocolate chip!). Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan to wire cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.