Small batch mocha muffins with a moist & fluffy espresso chocolate chip muffin, espresso streusel & an espresso glaze.
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espresso chocolate chip muffins
These espresso chocolate chip muffins with an espresso glaze, or mocha muffins for short, are the perfect muffin for coffee lovers (like myself.) First of all, they are SUPER moist and fluffy. The batter is loaded with espresso flavor & mini chocolate chips, and is topped off with an espresso brown sugar crumb topping and an espresso glaze. They’re also super easy to make (no hand mixer or stand mixer required) & come together in just 40 minutes. So let’s get into it! ☺︎
why you’ll love these small batch mocha muffins:
- They’re small batch: meaning it makes the perfect amount to have fresh muffins for a few days to yourself.
- Coffee: I think we’re all coffee lovers here, and these muffins are *loaded* with coffee in every bite.
- Chocolate chips: these muffins are absolutely loaded with mini chocolate chips, so you get a delicious amount of chocolate in every bite.
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 mocha muffins –
Coffee muffins:
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Instant espresso: for flavor – you could also use instant coffee here, just note that the coffee flavor will be more mild. Espresso powder would also work – but I would recommend using only half of the amount since it’s stronger.
- 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 the muffins and helping them retain moisture.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Kefir: for moisture and making sure the muffins stay tender, I used whole milk plain kefir. You can substitute in buttermilk, greek yogurt, or a mixture of 45g sour cream & 75g milk.
- Mini chocolate chips: I love using mini chocolate chips because they make sure you get a little bit of chocolate in every bite. You can use regular-sized chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or a chopped baking bar here as well.
Coffee Streusel topping:
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetness. In a pinch you can use granulated sugar here, just note that your streusel will be much lighter in color.
- Unsalted butter: to bring the streusel together – salted butter would work here as well.
- Instant espresso: for flavor – you could also use instant coffee here, just note that the coffee flavor will be more mild.
Coffee Glaze:
- Powdered sugar: to make a simple espresso glaze.
- Instant espresso: for flavor – you could also use instant coffee here, just note that the coffee flavor will be more mild.
- Milk: for thinning out the glaze – use your favorite milk here.
how to make small batch coffee muffins
Below are a few images of the process of making these small batch coffee muffins. You can find the full recipe and instructions at the end of this blog post!
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Then fold in the dry ingredients.
- Distribute the muffin batter and streusel between six parchment liners.
- Top the muffins with espresso glaze & enjoy!
small batch mocha 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 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 Mocha Muffins
Ingredients
Coffee Streusel
- 28 g butter (2 tbsp.)
- 40 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- 45 g all purpose flour (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. instant espresso
Mocha Muffins
- 56 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp.)
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 120 g kefir* room temperature (½ c. + ½ tbsp.)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. instant espresso
- 140 g all purpose flour (1 c. + 3 tbsp.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 75 g mini semi sweet chocolate chips (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
Espresso Glaze
- 60 g powdered sugar (½ c.)
- ½ tsp. instant espresso
- 1 tbsp. milk of choice
Instructions
Coffee Streusel
- In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar, flour, and coffee grounds. Mix around with a fork until you have small and large chunks of streusel. Set aside.
Mocha Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Line a muffin pan with 6 parchment liners, alternating the liners between the 12 muffin cavities.
- In a medium sized microwave safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Add the sugar, egg, kefir, vanilla, and instant espresso into the melted butter and whisk until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently stir the mixture together until there are only a few flour streaks left.
- Add in the chocolate chips and fold them in just until no flour streaks remain.
- Evenly distribute the muffin batter between the six parchment liners. Top each muffin with coffee streusel.
- Bake the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F / 175°C. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Espresso Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, instant espresso, and milk. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to get your desired consistency. Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature, drizzle the glaze over them.
- Serve and 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.