There’s a giant box of VitaMuffins in my kitchen.
And it is not my fault.
In fact, I’ve never tried a VitaMuffin in my life. The giant box belongs to my roommate, who would eat deep chocolate vitatops every single day if they weren’t so expensive ($17 for twelve muffin tops?!). She’s always asking me to “please come up with a copycat recipe so I can stop giving Costco all my money.” And therefore, I dedicate the following recipe to her:
Copycat chocolate vitamuffin tops: healthy enough for breakfast.
And decadent enough for dessert.
Muffin Monster.
Spawn of Cookie Monster.
Copycat Chocolate VitaTops
(makes 12)
- 2 tbsp milk of choice (30g)
- 2 tbsp oil, or 2 more tbsp milk of choice (30g)
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract (6g)
- 1 tbsp ground flax (6g) or 1 tsp energ powder (Can omit; they will just be a little denser.)
- 1/2 cup pureed prunes or pumpkin (120g)
- 1/2 cup spelt flour (all-purpose flour works too, and a reader says you can use Bob’s gf mix.) (65g)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (10g)
- 2 tbsp xylitol or sugar (25g)
- 1 to 2 more tbsp sugar or 1 to 2 nunaturals stevia packets (scant 1/16 tsp uncut) (Add 1 tbsp if using prunes, 2 if using the pumpkin.)
- highly recommended: 1/4 cup chocolate chips or mini chips (mixed into the batter)
- optional: 2-4 chocolate chips per muffin, for decoration
Preheat oven to 350 F, and grease a standard-sized muffin pan. In a mixing bowl, combine first 5 ingredients and whisk. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except the decoration ingredient, and stir well. Now mix wet into dry and stir until just combined. Don’t over-mix. Distribute batter evenly among 12 muffin cups, and—if desired—place two or three chocolate chips on the top of each muffin. Bake 12 minutes, then allow to cool 5-10 minutes before removing from the muffin tins.
Is it just me, or does my chocolate VitaTop look like a Pacman ghost?
Question of the Day:
Have you ever tried a VitaMuffin?
Do you think they’re good enough to be worth the expensive price tag?
Link of the Day:
Cathy says
Haven’t had the vita tops but had the vita cakes.They are really good and it tastes just like regular chocolate.It has been worth the price until now.If these vita tops come out good then will definitely stick with these.This price is so much better lol Thanks!
Kaela says
What did your friend say about the recipe? Did it taste like vitamuffins?
Danielle says
These are spot on! Really easy to make and super delicious.
Begginer says
Do the brownies to be stored in the fridge or just in a jar at room temperature?
Can they be kept in the freezer?
thanks!
Chocolate Covered Katie says
I would fridge or freeze for optimal freshness 🙂
Emily says
Hi! I didn’t read through all the older comments so maybe this was answered– I’m a bit confused by the nutritional info and am wondering if these are just supposed to “taste” like a vitamuffin/vitatop rather than match the nutritional benefits (ie fiber content). I will definitely try either way!
Ilene Robert says
I have tried Vita Muffin tops I bought at another store. And yes, they are worth the price. I am going to try your recipe. They also come in blueberry.
Audrey Schlegel says
I have also never tried VitaMuffins before (I don’t really care for store-bought cakes anyway… even if I don’t have time, I would rather wait until the weekend to eat a nice homemade muffins – or 10!- rather than buy the things stuffed with preservatives, sugar and chemicals at the supermarket). Since I have only one can of pumpkin puree AND I can’t open it, and have no prunes, I substituted for 60g of apple puree and 60g of low-fat vegan (yogurty) cottage cheese. As flour I used buckwheat flour (always tastes nice with chocolatey stuff, if you like a nutty taste) They are baking right now, but I tried the raw dough and it already tasted heavenly!
Debi says
but Vitatops have 9 grams of fiber, a huge consideration if your following weight watchers or other high fiber diets.
How could a baker increase the fiber? Your recipe only has 1gram vs the 9 grams.
Patricia says
I was curious can you use pureed banana instead of prunes ? I love my nanas and always have them on hand a bunch in the freezer and some on the counter. I make smoothies and I take sugar free pudding mix ( 1/2 package) 1/2 to whole frozen banana, 1 cup skim milk and fat free cool , Blend in my magic bullet it makes about 6 small. Popsicles for a treat after dinner are low in sugar and just enough, it’s either that or frozen pinapple slices!!! by the way i love your recipes i have tried soo many
Marisa says
I made these today & they are great! Thank you Katie!
I used Oat Flour, which I think this was the reason they were a little too dry while I was mixing them together, so I added a little more milk (I used home-made Oat Milk). I also chose to use Date sugar as the sweetner & only opted to put in 3 tablespoons.
My intention was to make a muffin that wasn’t too sweet that could be enjoyed with a morning cup of coffee. Achieved!
Katie says
Eeek! These are amazing. My two year old was the first to taste test. After the first bite she ran up to me for more and grabbed my hand trying to shove the rest into her mouth. What a great feeling. I’ll be making more to share with the whole family. Thanks!
IG says
Hi! If we double this recipe will it work to make muffins instead of tops?
Thanks!
Jason Sanford says
We haven’t ever tried, but be sure to report back if you do! Or try Katie’s low fat chocolate muffins recipe: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2015/01/20/low-fat-chocolate-muffins-100-calories/
S says
How do I store these?
Jason Sanford says
I would store just as you would any muffin recipe. For me, I store muffins in the fridge after a day for freshness. Or freeze.
Jason
Terri Van Son says
The Vitatops I just bought are awful!
So dry! Not sure what I am going to do with all I bought.
I can’t wait to try your alternative. Thank you!