It’s no secret that I love baking. So, this year for my birthday, my parents got me a gift certificate for King Arthur Flour. And, I didn’t waste much time before I was scouring their website trying to decide what to order.
It honestly took me almost a week to figure out what I wanted to order… And, that’s not because there was nothing that I wanted. It was quite the opposite… I wanted to try everything all at once! Among the items in my cart were a few specialty flours, flavors, and even some fresh sourdough starter. And, as soon as the box arrived on my doorstep, I got started baking. Wouldn’t you?
One of the specialty flours that I ordered was the organic pumpernickel flour. Honestly, I’m not sure what led me to choose pumpernickel other than that I have never really used it before. Plus, I was already dreaming of the combination of chocolate and pumpernickel. Though I know it’s not traditional, I always love the soft pumpernickel breads made with dark cocoa and molasses. I had some dried sour cherries on hand, too, so I knew they would have to be worked into the recipe in one way or another.
I initially planned to bake a yeast bread with the pumpernickel flour (and I probably still will), but I found myself whipping up a batch of muffins instead. After a long night with very little sleep (staying up with Yellowdog who refused to wear her cone collar to sleep), I was craving something warm for breakfast. So, I incorporated all of the flavors I had been thinking about into a muffin recipe… When you’re hungry at 7am, there’s no time to wait for a yeast bread to rise. In fact, I was too hungry to wait for all of the jumbo-sized muffins to bake, so I used some of the extra batter to make mini muffins that baked in a speedy 10 minutes. They were perfect for snacking while I waited for the rest of the muffins to bake!
Chocolate and Cherry Pumpernickel Muffins
(Makes 6 large muffins and 12 mini muffins, or approximately 18 regular muffins)
- 1 1/2 cups pumpernickel flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners, if desired.
Whisk together the pumpernickel flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil, and molasses. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried cherries.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for about 10 minutes for mini muffins, 15-20 minutes for regular muffins, and 25-30 minutes for jumbo muffins. A toothpick inserted will come out clean when the muffins are done. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.
I love anything chocolate and cherry. How unique!
I never would have thought to use pumpernickel flour for something sweet but you’ve definitely changed my mind. These look divine.
These look glorious. I have never made anything with pumpernickel before but love eating pumpernickel bread. Looks like I may have to head on over to the King Arthur site and spend some cash!
Pumpernickel flour, that sounds wonderful! Love the flavors in these muffins, too!
I don’t know if I’ve ever had a pumpernickel with cocoa and molasses. Or maybe I did but didn’t know that’s how it is made? Very compelling though – your muffins look delicious!
They look so good. I am loving this recipe. Especially the chocolate part.
Hmmm, so I have a King Arthur gift card that’s burning a hole in my pocket. Now I’m really inspired to try something new from them.
Chocolate and cherry is a great combinations. These muffins look delicious :)
I have never used pumpernickel flour in a sweet muffin mix… I love it! And I actually have a bag in the freezer!
I love pumpernickel! My favorite is pumpernickel bagels…yum! Now I have never had it mixed with chocolate but I cannot see why it wouldn’t be delicious!
how interesting! i’ve never used pumpernickel flour before, but it sounds lovely. and chocolate and cherries are such a great flavor combo! yum!
Chocolate and cherry I totally get….now throw in the pumpernickel and it’s totally different. I’ll bet this was really good, and cut down on the guilt of eating chocolate for breakfast!
These look wonderful and very wholsome. I bet the rye flour goes so well with the cchocolate. Delicious
Pumpernickel!! That’s a staple in my (partially) Eastern European household…but I’ve never used it for sweet cravings…but with chocolate…good idea!:O
I have a bag of the same KAF sitting in my pantry and have been unsure as to what to do with it. What a great idea to use it in muffins! With chocolate and cherries as well, oh my, I’m going to try out your recipe very soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a GREAT combination of flavours Jen. And pumpernickel flour – how intriguing.
This one is so freaking delicious! Eating this muffin will let you forget all the things you need to do for a day then you will surely ask for more of it. My kids truly love this muffin of yours. Thanks that you share this with us.
This is so sinful since I am on my diet right now.My hubby will surely get angry with me if I eat a lot of those. LOL.Maybe I should make this as fast as I can then finish eating all before he gets home.