Double Chocolate High-Protein Hazelnut Butter Filled Muffins

Once you make these brownies, you'll question a lot of things. For one, where this recipe has been all your life. Secondly, you might ask yourself why you didn't ever put protein in your desserts if it can taste this darn good. I tested this recipe about 8 times to perfect it; that's how life changing they genuinely are. And on top of how delicious and indulgent the muffins taste, they are also annoyingly healthy.

With a brownie style dense batter, loaded with chocolate, and filled with a molten hazelnut center, they will satisfy any death by chocolate-like craving.

They’re high in protein, naturally sweetened with banana, and perfect for a grab-and-go snack or dessert. And because I care less than I probably should about my blog's SEO, and more about you finding the actual recipe, I won't bore you with ten pages of text. Enjoy!

Makes 6 jumbo muffins

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• ¾ cup oat flour

• ¾ cup almond flour

• 7 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 scoop or full serving of protein powder (vanilla or chocolate)

• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

• ¾ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp salt

• Pinch espresso powder (optional, enhances chocolate flavor)

Wet Ingredients

• 2 whole eggs

• 1 egg white

• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

• ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt or Skyr

• ⅔ cup milk or milk alternative (almond, soy, or dairy)

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

  
  

Chocolate

• ⅓ cup chocolate chunks (Enjoy Life is a good option!)

• Extra chocolate chunks for topping

  
  

Hazelnut Centers

• 6 Tbsp hazelnut spread, 1 Tbsp per muffin (I use Justin's)

  
  

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a jumbo muffin tin with parchment squares, cutting a small slit on each side of the square so the paper folds neatly into the wells. You can also use a standard 12 cup muffin pan, and simply add less batter and make smaller hazelnut spheres.

2. Prepare the hazelnut centers first. Scoop 1 Tbsp portions of hazelnut spread onto a parchment-lined sheet pan or silicon mold, and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes or unitl hardened. Once they get more firm and malleable, you'll roll them into spheres using gloves or lightly oiled hands.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients until evenly combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, eggs, egg white, yogurt, milk, olive oil, and vanilla just until smooth. Avoid over-mixing to keep the muffins dense rather than airy.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently until just combined. The batter should be thick, glossy, and scoopable.

6. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

7. Fill each muffin cup a little more than halfway with batter. Place one hazelnut sphere in the center of each muffin, keeping it away from the bottom. Top with another scoop of batter, fully enclosing the center. Sprinkle additional chocolate chunks on top.

8. Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops are set and the muffins feel firm around the edges but still a little soft in the center. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Notes

• Using 7 tablespoons of cocoa powder (⅓ cup plus 2 Tbsp) gives a darker color and deeper chocolate flavor without drying out the muffins.

• Rolling the hazelnut filling into spheres helps keep the center compact and prevents it from sinking to the bottom.

• These muffins are designed to be brownie-like rather than fluffy, with a thicker crumb and rich texture.

  
  

Approximate Nutrition Information

Based on 6 jumbo muffins. Values are estimates and will vary depending on specific brands used.

Per jumbo muffin

• Calories: 340–360

• Protein: 22–24 g

• Fat: 15–16 g

• Carbohydrates: 30–32 g

• Sugar: 9–11 g

• Fiber: 4–5 g

  
  

Macro Notes

• Protein comes primarily from the eggs, Greek yogurt or Skyr, protein powder, and almond flour.

• Fat is largely from almond flour, olive oil, chocolate chunks, and the hazelnut center.

• Carbohydrates are mostly from bananas, oat flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate.

• Sugar is naturally occurring from bananas and chocolate; there’s no added refined sugar beyond the hazelnut spread and chocolate.