Lovely Raspberry-Dark Chocolate Muffins

Lovely, no?
But, wait...
it gets lovelier.

And even lovelier.
Yes, you are staring at muffin perfection. Really, though, how could you possibly go wrong with a muffin dedicated to celebrating the marriage of dark chocolate and raspberries?

But, let me tell you the key to success: use good dark chocolate. In fact, whenever you have a recipe calling for chocolate chips, if you use good dark chocolate, all of a sudden your cookie or muffin went from good to downright impressive. And all it took was a good decision on your behalf.

So, use good dark chocolate: either a high quality dark chocolate bar (you know, the kind you would eat by itself), or Ghiradelli 60% Cacao chips (they are by far the best chips out there). This time, I went for the chips.
And, some good raspberries don't hurt either.
To make the muffins, start by combining your dry ingredients. Then, add in the chocolate chips and mix them around. Next, add in the raspberries, and gently mix them around.
Make a well, and pour in your melted butter and wet ingredients.
Mix until just combined.
(And, as if I needed another reason to love these muffins: the vanilla aroma from this batter evoked some very lovely memories in me of making muffins when I was growing up.)

Use your ice cream scoop,
and fill each muffin cup.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. And, be warned, your house is going to smell delicious.
Cool for 5 minutes, before taking them out of the tin. And, then...
Enjoy some loveliness.

Raspberry-Dark Chocolate Muffins (adapted from joyofbaking.com)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups granulated white sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks*
1 1/4 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen (not defrosted))

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Butter or line your muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chocolate. Gently stir in the raspberries. With a rubber spatula fold into the dry ingredients the melted butter and wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix.

Evenly fill the muffin cups, using an ice cream scoop. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clear, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

*If you are using a bar of chocolate, just cut it up into chunks. It takes two minutes, and it is absolutely worth it.