Yield: 6 chocolate chip muffins // Total Time: 30 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //

30 minutes, 6 deliciously light and fluffy chocolate chip muffins

Small batch chocolate chip muffins

These small batch chocolate chip muffins are so good, you’ll probably want to double them. They’re super light and fluffy, and we’re loading them with mini chocolate chips. I’m a firm believer that mini chocolate chips are the way to go in bakes like muffins and scones because they evenly spread out in your baked good and don’t leave you with random bites without any chocolate in them! We’re also going to top these off with a cinnamon streusel, because streusel is NEVER optional (okay but actually it is if you don’t like it haha.)

Why do you post small batch recipes?

I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. Small batch helps cut down on waste and eliminates the feeling that all that excess dessert MUST be eaten. Here on my blog I post a lot of small batch bakes with a mix of some 8-10″ single layer cakes from time to time. All my recipes can easily be doubled or tripled to fit your need, so long as you use grams to measure!

Recipe tips

Weigh your ingredients
  • Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient and can easily throw off a recipe. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out! If you don’t have access to a scale, here is the best way to measure flour:
    • How to measure flour with cups: fluff up the flour with a fork, then use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup. Use a knife to level off the top of the cup, then use as directed.
Mix the batter carefully
  • It is super important to not overmix the muffin batter. Overmixing the batter leads to more gluten development which will take your muffins from light and fluffy to tough and chewy. If you’ve ever had your muffin tops be super pointy – overmixing is also the culprit! Be sure to mix the flour gently into the batter, and stop mixing right when that last flour streak disappears.
Room temperature ingredients
  • It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. Here’s how to get room temperature ingredients FAST if you’re in a time crunch or forgot to take the ingredients out (like I often do):
    • Egg: place the egg in a bowl and run hot water over it for 1 continuous minute, or let it sit in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
    • Sour cream and milk: microwave each in 5-second intervals until it is no longer cold, but is not warm (room temp!)
keep an eye on those muffins!
  • Muffins like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. Start checking at 14 minutes with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out wet, check them again in 2 minutes and so on until only a few moist crumbs stick to the toothpick.
How to get bakery style muffin tops
  • The trick to getting those nicely domed muffin tops is (mostly) all in your oven’s temperature! Bake the muffins at 425°F / 220°C for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F / 175°C and continue baking until done. The super high heat will make the muffins rise nice and tall! You will also want to bake them lined in every other tin on the muffin pan, and fill them to the very top. This recipe makes the perfect amount of batter to fill every muffin liner straight to the top for those perfect muffin tops!
how to evenly distribute your muffin batter
  • My favorite way to evenly distribute muffin batter is to use cookie scoops! Works perfectly every time. So long are the days of eyeballing which muffin may need a little more batter.

Ingredients and substitutions

For the streusel:

Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, really what makes it buttery and delicious. You can use salted butter here as well!

Light brown sugar: for swetness, in a pinch you can use granulated sugar here.

All purpose flour: adds structure to the streusel.

Ground cinnamon: optional to give a little flavor to the streusel.

For the chocolate chip muffins:

All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.

Baking powder: for helping the muffins rise.

Baking soda: for helping the muffins rise.

Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the muffins.

Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the muffins.

Granulated sugar: for sweetening and helping lock in moisture.

Egg: for binding and for moisture.

Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!

Whole milk: for moisture. You can use 2%, 1% or your favorite plant-based milk here, just note that the texture may change and the muffins may be less light and fluffy. Note: I’ve also had great success replacing both the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk!

Sour cream: for moisture and tenderizing the muffin batter. You can also substitute in greek yogurt here!

Chocolate chips: Use your favorite chocolate or chocolate chips here! I used mini chocolate chips so that the chocolate was fairly evenly spread out throughout the batter.

How to make small batch chocolate chip muffins

Here are the steps to follow to make my small batch chocolate chip muffins. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.

MAKE THE CINNAMON STREUSEL

In a small bowl, melt the butter, then add in the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed little clumps of dough. Set aside.

Mix together the wet ingredients

In a medium sized mixing bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar, followed by the egg, vanilla, milk, and sour cream.

Fold in the dry ingredients.

Add in the flour, baking powder/soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until a few streaks of flour remain. Then, fold in the chocolate chips just until no flour streaks remain.

Distribute the muffin batter evenly between the muffin liners. Top each muffin with some of the streusel, and additional chocolate chips if desired.

Bake

We’ll start the muffins out at 425°F for 5 minutes, which will help them rise up nice and tall. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F / 175°C for the remainder of the baking time.

Small batch chocolate chip muffins Q & A

Can I double this recipe?

Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! Simply double all of the ingredients in the recipe to make 12 delicious chocolate chip muffins. However, I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.

How to store muffins

Like most baked goods, these muffins will definitely taste the best on the day that they are baked. They will last for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Why do you measure in grams?

My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.

A note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

Tools and ingredients

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!

Did you make these small batch chocolate chip muffins?

If you made these small batch chocolate muffins I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Muffins

5 from 7 votes
30 minutes, 6 delicious chocolate chip muffins!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings6 muffins

Ingredients  

Streusel

  • 28 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp.)
  • 40 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
  • 45 g all purpose flour (~⅓ c.)
  • ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Chocolate Chip Muffins

  • 56 g unsalted butter (¼ c.)
  • 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
  • 1 egg room temperature
  • ½ tsp. vanilla
  • 75 g whole milk room temperature (⅓ c.)
  • 45 g sour cream room temperature (3 tbsp.)
  • 130 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 90 g chocolate chips (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Alternate lining a muffin pan with 6 parchment liners.

Streusel

  • In a small bowl, melt the butter, then add in the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed little clumps of dough. Set aside.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

  • In a small mixing bowl, melt the butter then whisk in the sugar.
  • Whisk in the egg, vanilla, whole milk, and sour cream until well combined.
  • Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to lightly fold the mixture until only a few flour streaks remain.
  • Add in the chocolate chips and fold just until no flour streaks remain, and the chocolate chips have been evenly distributed.
  • Evenly distribute the muffin batter between the six parchment liners, filling each liner to the very top. Top each muffin with some of the streusel and extra chocolate chips, if desired.
  • Bake the muffins for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F / 175°C. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
  • Serve and enjoy!

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Recipe Rating




7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Love the recipe b so confused about cupcake vs muffin tins. When I make these in my muffin tins I only get 4 🥴

  2. 5 stars
    These muffins are absolutely scrumptious! I found this recipe through Instagram, and these muffins definitely taste just as good as they look. I have been trying to find a good go-to muffin recipe for ages, and this is definitely the best one I have tried. And, the recipe was so easy to follow. Thank you so much for writing it (and putting the American measurements)!

    1. Thank you SO much, I’m so happy to hear that you liked the recipe and what an honor to be the best you’ve tried ahh! 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    now i know these are just muffins, and i am about to be so dramatic– but these are the best muffins i have ever had. since i started baking (ab a month or two ago!) your blog has been my guiding line through this lovely journey ! and after a lot of fun recipes i decided to make this lovely classic night before exam. i just have to say i literally, stopped everything when i bit into the first muffin and ate it with my eyes closed just EXPERIENCED IT! as the biggest muffin lover ever, i never thought anything would top the muffins from my local bakery, but wow❤ this is the best thing in the world❤ also the recipe is a DELIGHT to read, everything is so easy to follow and written with fun and interesting explanations<3

    1. You just made my entire week with your two messages, thank you so much!! I am so delighted to hear that you find the blog posts helpful and easy to follow especially on your newer baking journey. You are too kind and I am so happy that you enjoy my content and enjoyed this recipe. <3

    1. Hi, I’ve never tried this recipe with an egg substitute however it looks like some people have success by swapping out the egg for sour cream! So for this recipe just increase the sour cream from 30g to 80g. I hope this helps!