Dirty Chai Muffins

You know what they say...those who can't bake....complain about baking. 

There are so many things I detest about baking, I could write a book. Does that make me more right brain or left brain? I wonder. Let's name a few. Measuring....hate it. I don't even use measuring spoons. If a recipe says to add 1 tbsp of thyme, I'm going to go ahead and add three shakes of my dried thyme bottle and it will be delicious. If a recipe for a chocolate cake calls for 1 tsp of baking soda and I throw in what I think its 1 tsp...the cake explodes. The second thing I can't stand is the mess. I'm a clean cook, despite what my mother may have to say about that. I like to clean up as I go. Never have I ever been able to successfully transfer a cup of flour into a bowl without getting the majority of that flour on my counter top. I don't know what it is...it must be some law of physics. Another thing that grinds my gears is the waiting. So much waiting. You can't taste as you go unless you want to get salmonella. Even when the baked goods are done cooking I still have to wait from them to cool before I can frost or glaze them. I know, you get it. Baking is clearly not my cup of tea. But do you know what is my cup of tea?? Chai tea. Dirty chai tea. Imagine me raising my eyebrows up and down as I say that like a creepy person. 

When fall comes around I become the most basic girl on the planet. I can't help it. I love everything cliche about the season. Pumpkin spice lattes are too sweet for me (trust me, I've tried to like them) but the one Starbucks drink I entertain is a chai latte. I've liked it ever since I was in 8th grade and bought Starbucks only to carry around the cup. Now that I'm a grown up who requires a steady supply of caffeine to function, I order "dirty chai tea." It consists of a regular chai tea latte with a shot of espresso. I even like ordering it, because it makes me feel a little bit risqué. 

You know this recipe must be good because I put up with all of my qualms about baking stated above to make these muffins. 

Ingredients:
5 tbsp butter, softened at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso (using instant espresso)

Glaze:
11/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp espresso (using instant espresso)

1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 8 muffins tins and set aside.

2. Cream together butter and sugar using the paddle attachment in a standing mixer until light and fluffy. About 4 - 5 minutes.

3. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, ginger, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon. Beat until fully combined.

4. In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the coffee into the wet ingredients and mix until combined. 

5. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown on the top. Allow to cool for 30 mins.

6. One muffins are cool, whisk together powdered sugar and espresso. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins and top with extra espresso powder.