Chocolate Pistachio Muffins with Cream Cheese
These chocolate pistachio cream cheese muffins rise into lovely domes and feel wonderfully soft, pairing two favorite flavors in one bite: chocolate and pistachios…
- Prep
- 20 mins
- Cook
- 18 mins
- Total
- 38 mins
- Makes
- 20 servings
Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cream Cheese Muffins rise into lovely domes and have an incredibly soft crumb, blending two favorite flavors: chocolate and pistachios! This recipe comes from Sabine Venier's first cookbook, The Chocolate Addict's Baking Book, and it suits breakfast, brunch, or dessert equally well!
The Chocolate Addict's Baking Book
This is my friend Sabine's first cookbook, and she did a lovely job gathering these recipes, all built around chocolate! The Chocolate Addict's Baking Book is written for both beginner and experienced home bakers. It spans a wide range of flavor pairings that prove chocolate goes with almost anything!
The book is a real beauty, from the gorgeous photos that accompany each recipe to the range of flavor combinations inside.
If you love chocolate as much as I do, I'd definitely recommend this cookbook! It would also make a fantastic Christmas gift for the chocolate lover in your life! You can also follow Sabine and her many other wonderful recipes on Instagram and on her blog, Also the Crumbs Please.
Baking Tools You'll Need
To make Sabine's dark chocolate pistachio cream cheese muffins, I suggest using the following baking tools.
- Cupcake Tins. You'll need two to make this recipe, which yields about 19-20 muffins.
- Cupcake Liners. I used these basic black cupcake liners from Wilton. They also sell a pack of 150 liners in black, unbleached, patterned, and white.
- Mixing Bowls. I used one bowl for the streusel and another for the dry ingredients that get whisked together.
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer. Either one is very handy for beating the cream cheese, sugar, milk, eggs, and cooled melted butter.
- Cookie Scoop. Sabine suggests filling each liner nearly to the top, so my 3-tablespoon cookie scoop was a perfect fit. Spoons or a smaller cookie scoop work fine too.
- Whisks and Spatulas. The whisk is great for combining the dry ingredients. The spatulas are ideal for scraping down the bowl and folding in the pistachios. My go-to brand for both is GIR!
- Wire Cooling Rack. I like to move my muffins and cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely after about 10-15 minutes.
How to Make the Recipe
Here's a general outline of how I made these dark chocolate pistachio muffins. My method is a little different from the full recipe, since I make the streusel first and fold in the pistachios. You'll find the full recipe below, or in Sabine's new cookbook, The Chocolate Addict's Baking Book!
Prep your work area. Line the cupcake tins with liners and preheat the oven. You'll fill one full tin and a little more than half of the second. You can also melt the butter for the batter now so it has time to cool.
Make the streusel. In the full recipe this is the 4th step, but I like to make it first so it's ready and the batter doesn't have to sit. Be sure to use cold, cubed butter and your clean hands. Mixing it with your hands may seem odd, but it's the easiest way to make this streusel! Fold in the chopped pistachios last.
Whisk the dry ingredients together. Combine the all-purpose flour, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and baking powder.
Mix the wet ingredients together. Start by mixing the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Then add the eggs, milk, and melted butter.
Fold in the pistachios. Once the whisked dry ingredients are added to the wet, fold in the pistachios. Avoid overmixing this batter. A cookie scoop makes this step super easy!
Fill and bake. Fill each liner until nearly full. The batter won't spread over the sides. It bakes into a nice dome! Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 350ºF and bake another 11-13 minutes. Let them cool completely.
Freezing Muffins
Sabine suggests keeping these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Quick Tips
- Pay attention to the two baking times! 425ºF for 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 350ºF and bake for another 11-13 minutes. You don't need to take the muffins out when you lower the heat, and you won't need to open the oven door.
- Start with shelled pistachios. You'll skip the hassle of removing all those shells before chopping them for your recipe!
- Want more salt? Use roasted and salted pistachios instead of raw, plain ones. They're delicious and pair beautifully with dark chocolate!
- Skip the food processor. I crushed my pistachios in a Ziploc bag with a wooden spoon instead of using a food processor or chopper. A rolling pin or meat mallet also works well.
- Fold in your pistachios. This applies to both the streusel and the muffin batter.
- Use a cookie scoop. My 3-tablespoon cookie scoop filled the cupcake liners perfectly.
- Texture. The muffin batter is thick, but you can easily scoop it into the liners.
More Muffin and Cupcake Ideas!
Chocolate Pistachio Muffins with Cream Cheese
Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cream Cheese Muffins rise into lovely domes and have a soft, tender crumb, blending chocolate and pistachios in one treat. This new recipe from Sabine Venier's first cookbook, The Chocolate Addict's Baking Book, is great for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
- Prep
- 20 mins
- Cook
- 18 mins
- Total
- 38 mins
- Makes
- 20 servings
Ingredients
streusel
- 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Cold Butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup Raw, Shelled and Peeled Pistachios, chopped
dark chocolate pistachio cream cheese muffins
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder, spooned and leveled
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup Raw, Shelled and Peeled Pistachios, chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Line two 12-well muffin pans with about 20 paper liners and set them aside.
- Make the muffin batter: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer with a whisk or paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Next, add the eggs, milk, and melted butter and mix until smooth and combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, slowly blend in the flour mixture, about 1 minute. Avoid overmixing at every step. Finally, fold in the pistachios just until incorporated, then set the batter aside.
- Make the streusel: In a small bowl, use your fingertips to combine the flour, sugar, butter, and pistachios until crumbly. Don't overwork it, or it will turn into a paste instead of crumbs.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared wells until nearly full, then top with the streusel. You'll get 19 or 20 muffins. Bake at 425ºF (220ºC) for 5 minutes. Then, keeping the oven door closed, lower the heat to 350ºF (175ºC) and bake another 11 to 13 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan, or move them to a wire rack after 15 minutes, before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Baker’s notes
- Used with permission from The Chocolate Addict's Baking Book by Sabine Venier, published by Page Street Publishing Co. 2020.
