Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins (small batch)

 

This recipe I am sharing with you today is the best chocolate chip muffin recipe. They bake up nice and light, with tall crowns and a beautiful tender crumb.

Not only that, but they are stuffed to the hilt with lovely semi sweet chocolate chips. You can use either normal sized ones of mini ones. Its your choice. 

 

Its also a very simple chocolate chip muffins recipe. There are no bells and whistles. Nothing extraordinary to buy or include. No special equipment needed.

It is also a small batch recipe. It makes only six beautifully moist, tender and moreish muffins.  Designed for the smaller family, you could certainly double up on everything to make an even dozen muffin if you wished to do so.

 

I have always liked to bake us/me a little something special to enjoy at the weekend. Maybe cookies, sometimes a cake or a pie, of delicious muffins such as these.  

Just because I now live on my own is no reason for me to stop marking the weekend as being something special in this way.  Too many people on their own live on fast food or out of cans or the frozen food aisle. 

I am determined not to be that way, which is why I am small batching a lot of what I cook or bake these days. 

 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BAKERY STYLE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Simple store cupboard ingredients. Nothing that you probably don't already have in!

For the dry ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/2 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (135g) semi sweet chocolate chips

For the wet Ingredients:

• 1 large free range egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 TBS pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted and cooled

 

I had a big bag of mini semi sweet chocolate chips in the cupboard, which is what I used this time, but you can use regular chocolate chips if you like. Both work very well.

I always use large free range eggs. We actually buy our eggs here from a farmer around the corner from me. You can actually see the chickens running around the yard. The eggs have beautiful hard shells and the yolks are brilliant yellow!

I also only ever use pure vanilla extract. You could also use vanilla paste if you are lucky enough to have some in your cupboard. 

 

HINTS AND TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST MUFFINS

Muffins are really very simple to make, especially if you follow my hints and tips. They are much easier to make than cakes! 

1. Mix wet and dry ingredients together separately

To prevent the mix from being overworked, first mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and mix the dry ingredients in another. Make a well in the dry ingredients, carefully pour in the wet ingredients, then stir the mix a couple of times to just roughly combine.

2. Don't over-mix the batter

The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. Instead, what you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Resist the temptation to stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free. You want the final mix to be lumpy, thick and floury.

3. Don't overfill

Aim to fill the cups ¾ full to get muffins with nice round tops and to prevent them from spilling out over the top of the cups.

4. Add an extra sprinkle of flavor and crunch on top

Once the muffin cups are all filled, you can choose to sprinkle the tops with more fruit, nuts, coarse sugar or a crumble topping for even more flavour. As the muffins rise these flavourful toppings will cook into the tops of the muffin. 

 

5. Fill up your muffin pan 

If there isn't enough batter to fill all your cups, half fill the empty ones with water. This will help the muffins to bake more evenly and will protect you from ruining and buckling your pan. 

6. Cool them down

Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. This is especially important for muffins that aren't in a paper liner, as it will help them to keep them from falling apart. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise they will end up with soggy bottoms. Not a good thing.

7. Freeze for later

Muffins freeze wonderfully, so if you can't enjoy them all on the day they're made, wrap them up tightly plastic wrap and pop them into the freezer for later. These reheat very easily by warming them up for about 30 seconds maximum from frozen in the microwave.

 

Today I used my ceramic six cup muffin baker. It bakes beautiful muffins and is perfect for when you only want to bake six muffins. The batter never sticks, and you end up with a lovely crusty exterior, with a light and fluffy middle.

You can use paper wrappers if you like, but I find with muffins that have additions like chocolate chips or raisins, they tend to stick to paper wrappers.

Remember a muffin is supposed to be a type of a quick bread and not a cake. 

 

I have baked a LOT of muffins on here through the years. Here are some of my favorite and most popular muffins:

FOUR PERFECT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS - This recipe makes only 4 beautiful blueberry muffins. Delicately flavoured with fragrant lemon zest . . .  and studded with plenty of fat blueberries.

ULTIMATE BUTTERMILK BRAN MUFFINS - This recipe bakes up especially delicious, yielding a muffin that is super moist and tasty, with a well rounded bakery style top. You cannot go wrong with one of these! 

STICKY ALMOND MUFFINS - These muffins are very much like an upside down cake, except there is no fruit involved. Only nuts. You end up with sticky nut topped upside down muffins!

 

I  really hope you will be tempted to bake these delicious muffins this weekend.  They are fabulous muffins to enjoy with your morning coffee and/or as an afternoon snack. 

Moist, fluffy, rich in flavor, loaded with sweet chocolate chips, and so delicious you will want to devour the whole muffin, not just the tops!!

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins (small batch)

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Soft, moist and fluffy. Loaded with plenty of chocolate chips. These muffins have a beautiful high dome and go really well with a hot drink!

Ingredients

For the dry ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/2 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (135g) semi sweet chocolate chips

For the wet Ingredients:

• 1 large free range egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 TBS pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Spray a six cup muffin pan really well with some canola cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
2. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl, combining well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Whisk all of the wet ingredients together to combine well.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Fold both together just to combine, without overmixing.
5. Divide between the buttered muffin cups.
6. Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes, until well risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to cool. These are lovely enjoyed whilst still warm.

Notes

You can make your own buttermilk substitute in one of two ways:

1. Add 1 TBS of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill to make your measure of buttermilk. Stir and leave to clabber for 5 minutes.
2. Mix together equal parts of full fat yogurt and whole milk to make up your measure and leave to set for 5 minutes to clabber.

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