makes one dozen
The kids weren't thrilled with these—at first, that is. When I reached for the bittersweet chunks, I hesitated and wondered if I should use the semi-sweet knowing they might go over better. Then I decided to be selfish, and they didn't like them, their loss. The first bites were met with a scowl, but by day's end they were both begging for more. It just took a few bites for them to realize mommy was on to something good here.
2 cups (8.5 ounces/240 grams) all purpose white flour
1/4 cup (2 ounces/58 grams) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) coarse salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold butter, cut into 12 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups (280 ml) buttermilk milk
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
2 teaspoons (10 grams) coarse sugar, optional
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease one 12-cup standard size muffin tin; set aside.
Add flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a deep bowl. Whisk to combine. Add butter and using a pastry blender, or your fingers (my preferred method), blend until it forms a sandy-looking mixture. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir, using a wooden spoon, until just mixed and there are no visible traces of flour. Gently fold in the raspberries. Spoon into the prepared muffin tins and sprinkle tops with an even amount of coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake 24 minutes, until tops are golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.