Giveaway closed.

There are days where by 8am I am ready for an escape.

Do you ever have days like that? I could sit here and run down what most of my mornings are like trying to get four kids plus myself dressed and out the door in time for school, but I’ll save you the belly aching. If you have kids, I’m sure my mornings are just like yours. Something comes over me on those mornings and I turn from nice mom to yelling mom.

And to be honest with you, the yelling doesn’t help at all. It only makes me feel guilty for losing my temper.

What does make me feel better is a mini breakfast escape.  Five minutes locked somewhere away from my children (which is sometimes in the bathroom or sometimes even hiding out in the car in the garage). Five minutes of silence…no yelling… no rushing…just me, a cup of something warm, and my breakfast.

This morning I had an even better escape because I had a cup of Cafe Escapes Dark Chocolate Cocoa along with a Dark Chocolate Muffin I made using another cup of Cafe Escapes Dark Chocolate Cocoa. I felt like it was way too indulgent to be breakfast, but it was just the escape I needed!

Cafe Escapes believes that every day should be an escape… treat yourself to pampering, me time, whatever pleases you. Because of that, they are providing one lucky Dine & Dish reader the chance to receive a little pampering every month for a year through a Birchbox subscription.  With a Birchbox subscription, every month you’ll receive 4-5 hand-picked beauty samples from the best brands around – from the luxe lines you covet to the new and niche companies you’ve yet to discover. Sounds pretty awesome, right?

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you do to escape the everyday stresses of life. For additional entries:

• Become a fan of Cafe Escapes on Facebook. Leave a comment on this post letting me know you did so.
• Tweet the following: ” Escape by winning the @CafeEscapes @Birchbox 12 month subscription giveaway through @DineandDish #yourperfectcup http://bit.ly/y7gFdI ” Return to this post and leave a comment letting me know you’ve completed this.

All entries must be received by midnight CST on Saturday, February 11th, 2012. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and will be notified via valid email address soon after the giveaway close.

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Now on to the recipe:

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Recipe: Cafe Escapes Dark Chocolate Muffins

Rich and dark chocolate muffins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Equipment

• muffin tin

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate Cocoa brewed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 12 cup muffin pans by lining with cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, brewed hot cocoa, oil and vanilla.
• Continue beating while slowing adding the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda). Mix until well blended.
• Spoon muffin batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until knife inserted into the center comes out clear. Cool for 5 minutes before removing.

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