Muppet Muffins

It was a fine, sunny morning. Unsuspecting Cookie Monster and Elmo were sitting on a plate, doing... whatever it is that Muppet Muffins do in the mornings. Little did they know that a monster was luring around the corner, grinning his teeth, planning the perfect crime in his sick, tangled, blood-thirsty mind.

Chocolate Chip Muffins:

Ingredients:

• 300g self-rising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 80g caster sugar
• 150g of milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 225ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line 12 muffin cases.
2. Mix the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture is like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the chocolate chips.
3. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk and vanilla extract together, then pour the mixture all at once into the dry ingredients and mix briefly.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until risen, golden and firm to touch. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Muffins:

Ingredients:

• 250g self-rising flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 2tsp baking powder
• 175g caster sugar
• 175ml milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 100ml sunflower oil
• 75g plain or milk chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 1-2tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Line 12 muffin cases.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder; stir in the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix lightly together.
3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cases. Bake for approximately 20 mins. Cool for 10 mins.

Decorating:

Ingredients:

• icing sugar, 1 glass
• desiccated coconut, enough to cover all the muffins
• white chocolate buttons for eyes
• black icing pen
• jelly beans (only the orange ones) for Elmo's noses
• red food colouring
• blue food colouring
• an empty jar
• Chocolate chip cookies

1. Mix the icing sugar with a little bit of water to create a thick icing paste. Add the water one teaspoon at a time until you get the right texture - you want to add enough of water to make it an easily spreadable paste, but not so much that the paste will flow off the muffin.
2. Split the icing into two parts. Dye one red and the other one blue.
3. Pour a little bit of blue food colouring into an empty jar. Then add desiccated coconut. Put the lid back on the jar and shake it until the coconut is evenly dyed. If you need to add more dye, pour it into the jar directly on the glass, not on the coconut. Repeat the same with red colouring.
4. Cover half of the muffins with blue icing, and then sprinkle them with blue desiccated coconut. These will be Cookie Monsters. Repeat the same with red icing and coconut. These will be Elmos. :)
5. Use the white chocolate buttons and the black icing pen to make eyes. Make Elmos' noses with orange jelly beans. Use the icing pen to make Elmos's mouths.
6. With a sharp knife, cut Cookie Monster's face. Yes. Then put a cookie in it :)