Last month, I spent some time at my parents’ house after all of the craziness of moving. That first weekend, it felt blissful to sleep in and not run to Home Depot four times a day for more boxes and packaging tape. But then… Monday morning hit.
For the past two months, a construction crew has shown up before 7 am to work on my parents’ kitchen remodel. They’re incredibly sweet guys, but it’s impossible to knock down walls and build new cabinets without hammers, saw, and all kinds of loud equipment. So that was the end of relaxing mornings for me!
Yet even after the first few days of that new routine, I didn’t quite learn my lesson. I stayed up late, typing out blog posts and editing photos, so when my new banging hammer alarm clock sounded in the morning, I’d groggily slide out of bed to start the day.
The beginning of the days weren’t quite as bad, seeing as I’ve always been a morning person, but by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, my eyelids drooped and threatened to stay shut. With lots of recipes left to test, I turned to my mom’s favorite caffeine source—chai lattes—to power me through until nightfall.
Up until then, I had never actually tried a chai latte, but after my first sip, I was hooked! That warm cinnamon, that rich tea, that sweet balance of milk… I actually started looking forward to drowsy afternoons just to have my chai pick-me-up!
So this past week, when my stomach quietly started rumbling right around the chai hour, I decided to mix up some muffins to go with my drink. These healthy Chai Latte Muffins with Vanilla Drizzle were the result!
To start, we’re going to need chai tea. I know it sounds strange, but for the maximum chai flavor, steep the tea bag for at least 30 minutes. I think I left my mug for closer to an entire hour. Because you’re using just ½ cup of tea to flavor 10 whole muffins, we need it to be extremely strong!
To make these healthier muffins light and tender, we’re going to rely on a few little tricks. First, we’ll mix in lots of Greek yogurt. With just 1 tablespoon of butter, these muffins get the rest of their tender texture from the Greek yogurt. It adds all of the moisture for just a fraction of the fat and calories. Plus it sneaks in a little extra protein boost too!
Secondly, we’re going to mix the muffin batter just like cake batter, so that means alternating additions are mandatory. Mix in a little flour, followed by a little tea, and continue switching between the two, stirring just until they’re incorporated. This method prevents over-mixing the batter, which would overdevelop the gluten strands and lead to tough muffins. Not quite the soft pillow-like texture we’re after!
And now for the drizzle! I’m not a huge fan of the taste of powdered sugar, so I use Greek yogurt as the base for my glaze instead. It’s sweetened with a little agave and Truvia, plus a hint of vanilla extract to round of the flavor. The glaze is the main “latte” taste of these muffins, so drizzle it on nice and thick!
While I snapped photos in the middle of our dining room, my guy wandered in, took one look at the muffins, and chuckled. “I’m so tempted to just take a bite out of one…”
I motioned to the tray of naked muffins next to me, still waiting their drizzle, and replied, “You’re welcome to!”
“Umm, not quite…” he responded.
“Oh. You want one with drizzle. As in the ones I’m shooting.”
“Yes… But I know better.” He laughed and walked out.
So as soon as I finished, I brought one into the office for him. I fully expected him to take a bite and hand the rest back, like he does with all of my baked goods. After he swallowed he walked back towards the kitchen, with me following nervously, grabbed the glaze, and completely covered the top before polishing off the entire muffin.
With how picky he is, these must be some incredible muffins!
These muffins are soft, tender & so easy to make! They’re perfect for tea and cinnamon lovers alike. They’re best if eaten the same day that they’re drizzled. Store any leftover muffins and glaze separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 10 standard-sized muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the muffins, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix in the agave and Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the chai tea to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and bake at 350°F for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the drizzle, stir together the Greek yogurt, Truvia, agave, and vanilla. Spoon into a zip-topped bag, and cut off one corner. Drizzle on top of the cooled muffins.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: 1 c (120g) millet flour, ½ c (60g) brown rice flour, ½ c (60g) tapioca flour, and 2 tsp (6g) xanthan gum.
To prepare the extra-strong chai tea, boil ½ cup of water, and steep 1 chai tea bag for 30-60 minutes. (I use Twinings chai tea bags.)
If you do not have Truvia, substitute an equal amount of granulated sugar or ½ teaspoon (1g) of powdered Stevia.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
These sound like a great afternoon pick-me-up, or a great way to get going in the morning. I love the idea of the greek yogurt in the glaze, I am going to use that tip in some of my muffin and bread frostings!
Thanks Chloe! I was so thrilled when I realized I could use Greek yogurt in glazes. Life-changing to baking! 😉 I hope you enjoy that little trick for your muffins and bread frostings!
These muffins sound fantastic, Amy. Chai latte and vanilla glaze?! Perfection!
Thanks so much Jen!
I would probably be taken to a place of zen with these despite the hammering and sawing. My eyes would roll back into a state of pure fluffy muffin bliss!! YUM!
Thanks Brittany! Next up: the coffee version of these muffins! 😉
I need to make these for my mom!!
Your mom likes chai lattes too? Next time you have a cookbook launch party, I’ll bring some! 😉
I want 6 right now, yum!!
Thanks Beth — coming right up! 🙂
Oh man, I am NOT a morning person, so I feel for you! I am, however, an avid chai latte drinker and I’m SO into these muffins. I still love your greek yogurt drizzle. Yum!
Thanks Sarah! I totally jumped on the chai latte bandwagon. Don’t think I’m getting off anytime soon!
Making these tonight for a Christmas party! Was curious to know if I could use sugar free maple syrup in place of Agave for the muffins themselves.
How fun Katie! You could try, but I can’t guarantee that the results would be the same. I hope you enjoy the party!
How do you feel the greek yogurt helps the muffins?
The Greek yogurt adds a lot of moisture to the muffins to make them moist and tender. Without it, they’d be dry, crumbly, and bland. I hope you enjoy them if you try them!
Hey Amy! I came here after making these muffins to see if anyone else has commented after making them. I think?! that I followed the recipe verbatim but mine turned out terrible!! 🙁 Like, tasted like cardboard terrible. I’m so bummed bc we’re always looking for new clean recipes! Any ideas what I might’ve done wrong?
Oh no! That’s not how these muffins are supposed to taste at all. If they tasted like cardboard, there could be a few reasons why. There may not have been enough agave in the batter, which would make them taste bland. If you don’t like agave, maple syrup or honey would both work as substitutes. Also, make sure the flour is measured correctly using a very light hand with the spoon-and-level method. If the flour is directly scooped from the container using the measuring cups, I’ve found that I end up with 1.5 time as much as when I lightly spoon and level, which would create the cardboard taste you describe. Hopefully these tips work for you and your next batch turns out better Lyndsay!