When I was just out of college, looking for employment, I grabbed a temporary job at a coffee shop in Homewood, Alabama, called Cool Beans. It was, in those days, a hub for the Birmingham music scene and a sort of Cheers-like meeting place for the people of Homewood.  The coffee wasn't that great, in fact, none of the food and drink was worth writing home about. But it did have a magical combination of space, location, and an employee roster that ensured that clients were friendly and interesting.

The one thing we served that was irresistible were the cappuccino chocolate chip muffins. At five in the morning, I used to open and treat myself to a warm top of these muffins...nothing made the morning more pleasant.  Unfortunately, these muffins were made from an industrial batter that went straight from a bag to the oven.  Fortunately, I have a reproduction that I am going to share with y'all right. here.

These are easily the best muffins ever. If you are looking for a sweet, decadent breakfast muffin with chocolate, there is absolutely no reason to look any further. In honor of Cool Beans.

cappuccino chocolate chip muffins

• 2 c flour
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 tbsp instant espresso
• 1/2 c melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c mini chocolate chips

 Heat oven to 175ºC. Mix dry ingredients, through cinnamon.  Dissolve coffee in buttermilk, thn whisk into melted butter and add egg and vanilla. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ones, stirring just until combined. Then fold in chocolate chips and bake for about 15 minutes.