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It's possible to trade profitably on the Forex, the nearly $2 trillion worldwide currency exchange market. But the odds are against you, even more so if you don't prepare and plan your trades. According to a 2014 Bloomberg report, several analyses of retail Forex trading, including one by the National Futures Association (NFA), the industry's regulatory body, concluded that more than two out of three Forex traders lose money. This suggests that self-education and caution are recommended. Here are some approaches that may improve your odds of taking a profit. Prepare Before You Begin Trading Because the Forex market is highly leveraged -- as much as 50 to 1 -- it can have the same appeal as buying a lottery ticket: some small chance of making a killing. This, however, isn't trading; it's gambling, with the odds long against you. A better way of entering the Forex market is to carefully prepare. Beginning with a practice account is helpful and risk-free. While you're trading in your practice account, read the most frequently recommended Forex trading books, among them Currency Forecasting: A Guide to Fundamental and Technical Models of Exchange Rate Determination, by Michael R. Rosenberg is short, not too sweet and highly admired introduction to the Forex market. Forex Strategies: Best Forex Strategies for High Profits and Reduced Risk, by Matthew Maybury is an excellent introduction to Forex trading. The Little Book of Currency Trading: How to Make Big Profits in the World of Forex, by Kathy Lien is another concise introduction that has stood the test of time. All three are available on Amazon. Rosenberg's book, unfortunately, is pricey, but it's widely available in public libraries. "Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude," by Mark Douglas is another good book that's available on Amazon, and, again, somewhat pricey, although the Kindle edition is not. Use the information gained from your reading to plan your trades before plunging in. The more you change your plan, the more you end up in trouble and the less likely that elusive forex profit will end up in your pocket. Diversify and Limit Your Risks Two strategies that belong in every trader's arsenal are: Diversification: Traders who execute many small traders, particularly in different markets where the correlation between markets is low, have a better chance of making a profit. Putting all your money in one big trade is always a bad idea. Familiarize yourself with ways guaranteeing a profit on an already profitable order, such as a trailing stop, and of limiting losses using stop and limit orders. These strategies and more are covered in the recommended books. Novice traders often make the mistake of concentrating on how to win; it's even more important to understand how to limit your losses. Be Patient Forex traders, particularly beginners, are prone to getting nervous if a trade does not go their way immediately, or if the trade goes into a little profit they get itchy to pull the plug and walk away with a small profit that could have been a significant profit with little downside risk using appropriate risk reduction strategies. In "On Any Given Sunday," Al Pacino reminds us that "football is a game of inches." That's a winning attitude in the Forex market as well. Remember that you are going to win some trades and lose others. Take satisfaction in the accumulation of a few more wins than losses. Over time, that could make you rich!

Double Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins with Sea Salt

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These decadent double chocolate muffins are naturally sweetened with just enough maple syrup to balance out the rich chocolate flavor from a mixture of cacao powder and dark chocolate chips. A sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top creates a slightly sweet & salty first bite that's a dark chocolate lover's dream.



These double chocolate muffins have been on my mind for nearly two months now. I wake up in the morning and before I've finished my first cup of bulletproof coffee, I'm dreaming of baking a batch. I walk down to the lake and an image of rich chocolate muffins pops into my head.

I've lost track of how many times I've brought up dark chocolate muffins to my sister on the phone. Clearly, the universe is sending me a message: Dear Elaina, hurry it up up, there's a chocolate lover out there who needs this recipe!


I'm happy to oblige, but it's still weird that a chocolate recipe of all things is my current obsession since I'm not a big sweets person anymore.



I used to be a total chocoholic/dessert addict in high school, but since switching to eating mostly real foods, giving up soda, and reducing my sugar intake drastically over 5 years ago, I don't crave sweets often and my body is much more sensitive to sugar (i.e. if I consume a drink or dessert with a TON of sugar, it'll 1) taste gross to me and 2) make me feel like crap within 20 minutes).


Sweets With Less Sweetener
But it's also NOT weird because I've started experimenting with classic baked goods & dessert recipes like banana bread and peanut butter cookies to see if I can make them with way less sweetener and often an unrefined sweetener instead of sugar. It's a worthy challenge, don't you think?



After all, why use 4 cups (?!?!?!) of powdered sugar for a small batch of chocolate covered peanut butter balls when you can just use 1/4-1/2 cup of maple syrup instead? I don't know about you, but I like being able to eat 3 peanut butter balls and not feel like poop, instead of just one that rapidly puts me in a sugar coma.

Maybe that's just me. If you're a magical unicorn that isn't affected by excessive amounts of sugar, then keep on keeping on.


Keeping These Double Dark Chocolate Muffins Moist
So back to these muffins.

I wanted an intense chocolate flavor without a ton of sweetness (many double chocolate chip muffins taste like cupcakes), so I used my peaches and cream muffins as a base.



That recipe is sweetened with honey and has a pretty thick batter, but it stays moist, light & rich from the sour cream and peaches. So when I added the 1/2 cup of cacao powder to give this version a deep chocolate taste, I had to tweak the liquid ratios in order to keep it moist.

Three batches later (thank you to the three gals who took those batches as I was recipe testing - especially the first two that were drier) I ended up increasing the amount of sour cream and switching to large eggs (instead ofmedium or small). This did the trick!


Despite this, they're not a forgiving muffin if you over bake them!

I mean, they'll still taste good but they won't be moist. I'm so used to using applesauce, banana mash, or pumpkin puree in my baked goods (like with pumpkin muffins), which makes them sooooo moist that a few extra minutes in the oven doesn't hurt a thing. Not the case with these!


So fair warning: DON'T forget about the muffins in the oven and DO check on them a few minutes early just in case your oven runs hot or your muffin tins aren't filled as high as mine.




Topping Muffins: Sea Salt Versus Sugar
Many jumbo-sized bakery style muffins are topped with coarse sugar. I rarely keep cane sugar on hand unless it's for DIY sugar scrubs or a very specific recipe that calls for it, so I opted to top these muffins with coarse sea salt instead.

Sea salt + caramel is a classic combo, so why not do it with dark chocolate? Plus, I added extra chocolate chips on top so you get a mix of soft muffin, rich bittersweet chocolate & sea salt in several bites.





Warning: Not For The Chocolate Faint of Heart
NOTE: This is a recipe for true dark chocolate lovers! I know that's a bold statement, but I'm not making it because the muffins have an insane amount of chocolate in them or anything like that.

Rather, because there is way less sugar (maple syrup in this case), the chocolate flavor is super strong. If you eat 70% or higher dark chocolate on the reg, you'll dig this. If you're more into white or milk chocolate (sigh...that's the case with my beau) you'll probably want to make some tweaks.

First things first, use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate chips. Then, increase the maple syrup by 1/4 cup. That should do the trick. If not, sprinkle extra coarse sugar on top of the batter instead of salt. Still not sweet enough? Uhh...follow it with a chaser of straight cane sugar?!? I'm all out of ideas.


DOUBLE DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS WITH SEA SALT
PREP TIME: 10 MINSCOOK TIME: 22 MINSTOTAL TIME: 32 MINS
These decadent double chocolate muffins are naturally sweetened with just enough maple syrup to balance out the rich chocolate flavor from a mixture of cacao powder and dark chocolate chips. A sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top creates a slightly sweet & salty first bite that's a dark chocolate lover's dream.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups of all-purpose einkorn wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup of cacao powder, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, or Dutch processed unsweetened baking cocoa*
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of full-fat sour cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (get my homemade vanilla extract recipe)
3/4 cup of real maple syrup or honey
1 cup + 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
Coarse sea salt for topping muffins (optional)
*Note: I've tried this with cacao powder & cocoa powder processed with alkali (Dutch) and both turned out great; however, brands have different levels of bitterness & smoothness to their cocoas/cacaos, so seek out a high-quality, unsweetened variety.

Recommended Equipment

12-count standard-sized muffin tin
parchment paper muffin liners
measuring cups (I love these magnetic ones)
measuring spoons (I love these magnetic ones)
mixing bowls

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin tin with parchment paper liners OR grease them with cooking fat. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. As soon as it's liquid (this will only take a few minutes), set it aside to cool. Add all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, cacao powder) into a mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract, then mix until smooth. Stir the maple syrup or honey into the coconut oil then pour both in with the rest of the wet ingredients.
Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients while gently stirring the batter until everything is well incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick, but that's okay. Gently fold 1 cup of dark chocolate chips into the batter (reserving the rest for the top of the muffins).
Fill each muffin tin at least 3/4 the way full or until all the batter is used up (mine are almost completely full), then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips on top of the muffins, gently pressing down if need be so they stick. (Optional: sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a bit of coarse sea salt.)
Bake for 20-23 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean/dry (it might have a bit of melted chocolate on it from the chips). It's easy to overcook them, so if you think your oven runs hot, check them at the 20-minute mark or a few minutes earlier. Let the muffins sit for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or space on the counter to cool (we don't want them to keep cooking in the tins). As soon as they're cool, transfer to an airtight container to keep them moist and consume within a few days OR freeze for reheating later.

Notes & Tips:

These muffins aren't super sweet, so if you want them sweeter, swap out the dark chocolate chips for semi-sweet chocolate chips and increase the maple syrup or honey to 1 cup.
As I mentioned above, be careful not to overbake these or they'll dry out. Check on them at the 20-minute mark, or even a few minutes early if you think your oven runs hot, and then only leave them in the muffin tins for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack so they don't keep cooking.


I'd like to hear from YOU!


What's your favorite double chocolate recipe?



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