Small batch hazelnut chocolate chip muffins that are fluffy, moist, loaded with mini chocolate chips & chocolate hazelnut spread, and topped with a hazelnut brown sugar streusel.
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small batch hazelnut chocolate chip muffins
aka small batch nutella muffins – these muffins here are super moist and fluffy, loaded with mini chocolate chips and a bunch of chocolate hazelnut spread/nutella, and then to top it all off we have a delish, crunchy brown sugar hazelnut streusel. They’re super easy to make, small batch (of course) but you can always double or triple as needed, aaaand they’re super delish, so let’s get into it!
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
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.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the muffins.
Mix the batter carefully
It is super important to not overmix the muffin batter. Overmixing the batter leads to more gluten development which is not desirable in these muffins. Not only will you get those pointy tops on the muffins, but you will end up with tough and chewy muffins.
keep a close eye on the muffins while they bake
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
One 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!
Another trick, that’s optional, is resting the muffin batter. After making the muffin batter, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking. This will give time for the starches in the flour to absorb the moisture in the batter and will give you more flavorful, higher-rising muffins. Most baking powder is – but – just make sure your baking powder is “double acting” if you try this method.
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.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. 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.
ingredients for small batch hazelnut chocolate chip muffins:
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.
- Hazelnuts: for a little crunch
chocolate chip muffins:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
- Baking powder: 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!
- Kefir: my “secret” ingredient for muffins! Kefir adds such as a nice subtle tang to the muffins and keeps them moist and fluffy. You could also use buttermilk here, or a 50:50 mix of greek yogurt and milk.
- 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.
- Chocolate hazelnut spread: such as nutella (I used Bonne Maman’s Chocolate Hazelnut Spread).
how to make small batch hazelnut chocolate chip muffins
Here are the steps to follow to make my small batch chocolate chip muffins. You can find the complete recipe at the end of this blog post.
- Combine the streusel ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix together the wet ingredients: In a medium sized mixing bowl, melt the butter, then whisk in the sugar, egg, kefir, and vanilla.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until only a few streaks of flour remain, then fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Distribute the muffin batter between six liners, fill them with chocolate hazelnut spread, top them with streusel, then bake and enjoy!
small batch hazelnut chocolate chip muffins recipe 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. 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 keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Hazelnut Streusel
- 28 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp.)
- 40 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- 30 g all purpose flour (¼ c.)
- 28 g chopped hazelnuts (¼ c.)
Chocolate Chip Muffins
- 56 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp.)
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 120 g kefir room temperature (½ c + ½ tbsp.)
- 140 g all purpose flour (1 c. + 3 tbsp.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder*
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 75 g mini chocolate chips (¼ c. + 3 tbsp.)
- 120 g chocolate hazelnut spread (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Instructions
Brown Sugar Hazelnut Streusel
- Alternate lining a muffin pan with 6 parchment liners. If you won't be resting the batter and want to bake the muffins right away, preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Otherwise, preheat the oven after letting the batter rest.
- In a small bowl, melt the butter, then add in the sugar, flour, and hazelnuts. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together, then place the streusel in the fridge to firm up while you make the muffin batter.
Chocolate Chip Muffins
- In a small mixing bowl, melt the butter then add in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and kefir and whisk until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, 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.
- (OPTIONAL) Cover the batter and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before baking. This will encourage a more flavorful, higher-rising muffin!
- Evenly distribute the muffin batter between the six parchment liners.
- Transfer the chocolate hazelnut spread to a piping bag, and snip off the end of it. Pipe some of the spread into the center of each of the muffins until you have used all of it.
- Remove the streusel from the fridge and use your fingers to crumble it over each of the muffins.
- 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 (or a little to the side of the center to avoid the chocolate hazelnut spread) of the muffins comes out clean. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
