Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love to be in my kitchen. I love to cook and bake all sorts of things. But if I had to choose between the two, I love to bake. I bake about once a week and usually half of it goes bad and we have to throw it away. So tonight I wanted to make something that I knew we would eat. So Chocolate Chip Muffins it was. They wouldn't be too sweet to eat in the morning or early afternoon for a snack but yet yummy enough to eat as dessert after dinner.

I think they turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Mix the batter in a bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and the 1 cup sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add 1 egg and beat until blended. Add the other egg and the vanilla and beat until well blended.

Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with the rubber spatula. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Pour in the milk and beat just until blended. Add the rest of the flour and the chocolate chips and beat until blended.

Fill the muffin cups using 2 large spoons, one to scoop and one to push, fill each lined muffin cup with batter. Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over the tops.

Bake the muffins. Put the pan in the oven and bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 21 to 23 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, set it on a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Tip the muffins out of the pan onto the rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12-15 muffins.