Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Muffin Tops

Start your holiday morning off right with delicious, warm, freshly baked Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Muffin Tops.

This recipe was created for my client, Madhava, but all opinions are my own.

When I opened the door to retrieve the newspaper Friday morning, I was greeted with falling flakes and a porch coated with snow. Yes, snow. My coworkers call it a dusting ... though since I could measure it in inches, I see it as a bit more than that.

But hey, whatever. It was mostly gone by the evening.

Still, this is Maine, and we are bound to see much more of that white stuff as the holidays approach. Often. As the temperatures drop here and snow becomes a more common occurrence, it's so tempting to just trade our usual veggie- and fruit-filled meals with heavy, warm foods like cheesy baked dishes and thick stews. I mean, those are the foods that bring comfort to cold bodies in winter, right?

But you don't have to totally fall down the comfort food rabbit hole to enjoy something warm and toasty. I mean, with a few simple substitutions you can turn a favorite food into a better-for-you version of itself. For instance, trade the white potatoes for sweet potatoes in your favorite stew. Or use less cheese in your favorite baked pasta dish.

Another option? Trade our your standard sugar for a better for you blend like I did in these easy muffin tops.

Madhava's Better Baking Blend combines coconut sugar and cane sugar in a ready to bake mixture that is a 1:1 swap for regular sugar. But what is coconut sugar? Coconut sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree. Lower in fructose than regular sugar, it's a natural option that falls within that better for you range -- and since it's blended with cane sugar in this, it behaves as you'd expect sugar to.

I love the flavor -- which is sweet without aftertastes.

As for these muffin tops? They are heavenly. These babies bake up fluffy and airy with a nice crust. Finish them off with a sprinkle of sweet Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar on top.

Best of all? This is a quick and easy recipe.

Swear.

Why not whip up a batch for the holidays? Whether for your breakfast on Thanksgiving or Christmas brunch or something else, these will become a fast favorite.

Healthier Holidays with Madhava

Psst! Guess what? Madhava has a pretty awesome Healthier Holidays with Madhava Giveaway happening on their Facebook page right now. Madhava wants to help you celebrate healthier holidays so we are giving away a #MadSweetHolidays gift pack! Just pop over to enter to win.