Easy Flax Brownie Muffins

Easy flax brownie muffins.

Not overpoweringly sweet and with a perfect texture, these grain and dairy-free easy flax brownie muffins are a perfect snack or treat! The inspiration for these delicious little bites of chocolate goodness came from the Flax 4 Life chocolate brownies that Costco sells. My dear friend and her mom regularly buy me a bin of them for special occasions and I wouldn’t say I’m *addicted,* but I do crave them!

Of course, the Costco version is much sweeter, and has a couple ingredients that I wouldn’t be putting in anything. So I decided it was high time I came up with a copy-cat version that I could enjoy whenever I wanted!

Into the ingredients…

Flax meal.

My first intro to flax meal was way back when I went egg-free. A little flax meal and some water can make a great egg replacement. But that’s not how it’s used in this brownie recipe. The flax meal here is actually the main flour! Of course, it’s really a flour, it’s just seeds ground up into a meal. In fact, if you can’t get your hands on good quality flax meal, you can buy the seeds and grind your own flax meal in your blender. This is what I usually do. That way I can make as much as I need at a time so the meal has the optimal amount of nutrients.

Speaking of which, flax is loaded with nutrients like thiamine (a B vitamin) and copper. It’s also high in omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, making it good for people who are detoxing, since the fiber in the flax works as a binder to pull out toxins from the body.

If you’re looking to grin your own flax meal, I suggest using these organic flax seeds from Azure Standard.

The sweetener.

Yes, I know, these easy flax brownie muffins have sugar in them. But I console myself with the fact that it’s organic coconut sugar. Since coconut sugar is a natural and not as refined as white sugars, my body handles it well. And bonus, I love the texture it gives desserts!

If you’d like to use something else like maple sugar or rapidura or something, feel free. I have NOT tried these with only liquid sweeteners, like honey or maple syrup. But if you do, please let me know!

My favorite cocoa powder ever.

I feel like I talk about this in every recipe – but that’s just ’cause I love it! – I always use the fair-trade, organic cocoa powder from Azure Standard. It is absolutely the best! Not only is it deep and so delicious, it’s also the cheapest cocoa I can find! As always, you can use whatever kind of cocoa you have. No need to be just like me!

The liquids.

The original ingredient list for these brownies calls for water. While I have used water in brownie recipes before, that’s kinda… boring. So I like to keep things fun by using other liquids like coffee, milk (raw or coconut), or even herbal teas! You can do whatever you want. I personally think these easy flax brownie muffins are best with milk. It helps mellow out the sorta harsher flavors of flax and cocoa.

Baking options.

Now, when you buy these at Costco they come in little mini muffins. And generally that’s what I make too. But you could totally just pour the batter into a pan and then cut it out like brownies (but they’ll have a muffin texture) or you could use a regular muffin pan. Just remember to adjust the baking time to a little longer if you do one of those last two options. The brownie muffins should have a fluffy, very light texture when they’re done.

If you’re not in the mood for plain chocolate (I’ll allow it), there are always other delicious things you could add in, like:

• dairy-free mini chocolate chips
• walnuts
• peppermint extract
• dairy-free white chocolate chips

I mean, the options are pretty endless… Enjoy!

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. I try to only link to products that I have personally used and enjoyed so you know you’re not getting something that’s not been vetted. Thanks!