milo muffins

This is another of my experiments in my quest to come up with simple recipes that Da's and my god-children (the eldest of whom is 9 years old and the youngest of whom is 4 years old) can have fun trying. The beauty about baking with the aid of little pairs of hands is that the little ones are eager to help and they enjoy the team effort.

I baked these muffins when Da and I came home from dinner around 11 pm on a weeknight. Although we had already eaten our dinner, I could not resist eating half of a muffin when it was still warm from the oven. I saved the other half for Da (who had by then fallen asleep). The rest of the muffins were packed in containers for Da and I to bring to our respective offices to share with our respective colleagues.

You can use a hand whisk instead of an electric mixer. However, lately my electric mixer has been placed on our kitchen counter-top (instead of being stored in the cupboard and taken out only when I need to use it). As such, it is convenient for me to use the electric mixer because my electric mixer comes with a stand and I can do other chores while the electric mixer is in use. Ah... the luxury of multi-tasking.

INGREDIENTS

270g self-raising flour
30g Milo
1 tsp baking powder
50g butter (softened)
80g brown sugar
200g semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
225 ml low-fat milk
1 tsp vanilla essence


METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Line the muffin pans with muffin cups.

3. Sift the self-raising flour, Milo and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl using an electric mixer or a hand whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla essence and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Mix until just blended. Do not overmix. The batter will be lumpy.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.