What's better than a batch of chocolate chip mini muffins from scratch on a weekend morning, or as an afternoon snack on a busy weekday? I'll tell you what's better: a chocolate chip mini muffins recipe with orange zest for an amazing flavor combination! This mini chocolate muffins recipe is your new favorite easy snack!
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Once you make this mini muffins recipe, try my 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins, my Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins, and my Chocolate Orange Cake!
Best Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins Recipe
As you'll see below, this orange chocolate chip mini muffins recipe takes adorably perfect mini muffins and upgrades them with the best flavor combination: orange and chocolate! This easy recipe is the perfect snack, especially for little hands! It's a wonderful after school snack, but your entire family will love them too!
This is one of my all-time favorite flavor pairings -- I feature it in my Chocolate Orange Slice-and-Bake Shortbread Cookies and also in my No-Bake Cannoli Tart! They're so perfect together, and in these mini muffins the orange zest just takes the flavor to another level!
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Why are little bites so moist?
I'm not sure about any store-bought muffins, but these from-scratch chocolate chip mini muffins are perfectly moist because of the butter and buttermilk in the batter! And as long as you make sure not to overbake them, you'll get moist and delicious muffins every time.
Orange Mini Chocolate Muffins Recipe Ingredients
You'll love what an easy recipe this is! Just a few basic ingredients with a bowl and a whisk and you've almost got these delectable orange chocolate chip mini muffins! Here's what you'll need to gather together for these little muffins:
- all-purpose flour - Measured using the spoon-and-level method, but ideally measured by weight using a food scale -- you'll need 160 grams
- baking powder - gives the muffins a lift for that perfect domed top and fluffy texture!
- salt - in addition to using salted butter, adding a little salt helps bring out the flavors in these muffins and cut the sweetness a bit.
- semi-sweet mini chocolate chips - I love mini chocolate chips! They're such cute little bursts of chocolate flavor! For this recipe I used Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Mini Morsels. You can use regular chocolate chips, but they'll take up a larger portion of each muffin.
- butter - make sure your butter is softened to room temperature. I like to use salted butter because, along with the salt in this recipe, it helps cut the sweetness a bit and bring out the flavors. But if you prefer to use unsalted butter, just add an extra ⅛ of a teaspoon of salt.
- granulated sugar - gives our muffins a little sweetness!
- light brown sugar - adds a rich sweetness and helps our muffins stay moist.
- orange zest - the best part! It adds so much orange flavor that you can taste, smell, and see in these orange chocolate chip mini muffins!
- eggs - binds our muffin batter together in this simple recipe!
- vanilla - for the best flavor, I like to use pure vanilla extract. Or you can make your own!
- turbinado sugar - my favorite muffin topping! It easily takes any muffin recipe to a more elevated level, adding sparkle, crunch, and sweetness. The perfect finishing touch!
- buttermilk - adds a lot of moisture to this mini chocolate chip muffin recipe! If you don't have buttermilk, you can use ¼ cup of sour cream thinned out with a tablespoon of whole milk.
Equipment
This is a mini muffin recipe, so you definitely need a 24-cup mini muffin pan! I like this one from Wilton -- it's super easy to clean! But to make clean up even easier, I like to use these mini muffin pan liners brushed with a little cooking oil. Also, as you'll see below, I have an easy trick to get neat, evenly filled muffin cups that involves a pastry bag!
Best Mini Muffins Recipe, Step by Step
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and chocolate chips.
- Cream together wet ingredients: butter and sugars, then mix in orange zest, vanilla, and egg.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, mixing just until everything is combined!
- Fill your muffin cups in your mini muffin tin and bake! Let them cool on a wire rack.
Tips for the best mini chocolate chip muffins with butter
Use a food scale to measure your flour. I am fully converted to using a food scale for as many ingredients as possible. You may know that precision is so important in baking, and getting the precise amount of flour, or baking soda, or any other ingredient is essential.
In these muffins, too much flour will make them dense and chewy, while too little will make them flat and mushy. In this recipe, as in all my recipes, the dry ingredients are listed in grams so that you can be sure you're using the right amount.
Spray or brush your muffin cups with oil. This is not required, but I like how easily the muffins come out of the muffin cups when they're brushed with a little vegetable oil. It's hard to get cooking spray into such small liners, but a little cooking oil on a pastry brush in each muffin cup is perfect!
Use a pastry bag to pipe batter into muffin cups. This is the best tip! Just grab the pastry bag you normally use for decorating cakes and cupcakes and pipe, swirling batter to the top of each little liner! It's so neat and easy, and helps to keep the mini muffins evenly filled! If you don't have a pastry bag, you can also use a small cookie scoop.
Don't overbake. These chocolate chip mini muffins cook in about 10-12 minutes, and they're easy to overbake because of their mini size. The first time I made these little guys, I cooked them for 14 minutes, and they were a little dry. Learn from my mistake! Your results may vary slightly, but be sure to check them after 10 minutes and take them out once a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean!
Frequently Asked Questions
For this mini chocolate muffins recipe, you'll want to check your muffins with a toothpick at around 9 or 10 minutes. They're done when the toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. They'll be just starting to get light golden brown on top.
You do! But seriously, the brands that make mini muffins don't hold a candle to what you can create in the kitchen with this recipe!
A standard muffin pan typically features 12 larger cups, each holding about ⅓ to ½ cup of batter, perfect for standard size muffins or cupcakes. In contrast, a mini muffin pan usually has around 24 smaller cups, holding about 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter, resulting in bite-sized muffins ideal for parties or snack time.
As with all my homemade muffin recipes, you'll want to let them cool completely first. Then you can store them at room temperature for up to four days in an airtight container like this cupcake carrier or my favorite domed cake stand!
Related Recipes
This orange chocolate chip mini muffins recipe is a favorite of mine because of that unforgettable flavor combination, orange and chocolate! It's one of my all-time favorites, and I love to use it in my baking! If you like this recipe, you'll enjoy my No-Bake Cannoli Tart, a take on the Sicilian pastry in a no-bake tart with a graham cracker crust!
And if you love chocolate chips, check out my chocolate stuffed chocolate chip cookies!
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
- mini muffin liners
- pastry bag and tips
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (160 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon (6 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- ⅔ cup (158 g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips - plus more for topping
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon (4 g) orange zest
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (80 g) buttermilk - room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 g) turbinado sugar – for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a 24-cup mini muffin pan with liners. If you like, spray or brush the liners with cooking oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add orange zest, egg, and vanilla, mixing well after each addition.¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon orange zest, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ cup light brown sugar
- Add ⅓ of flour mixture and gently fold into batter. Follow with ⅓ of buttermilk. Repeat alternating until all flour mixture and buttermilk is added, mixing gently after each addition. Fold in mini chocolate chips.⅓ cup buttermilk, ⅔ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Using a piping bag or mini cupcake scoop, fill lineers to just above ¾ full. Drop pan onto counter once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.¼ cup turbinado sugar – for topping
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-11 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Last Updated on March 17, 2025 by Chenée Lewis
Sara Welch says
Whipped up a batch of these and they did not disappoint! Turned out perfectly light, fluffy and delicious; easily, the best way to cure my sweet tooth!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad to hear that! Thank you!
rebecca says
ok brilliant idea to add orange zest. such great flavor addition!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you liked them!
Sharon says
Chocolate and orange is a combination I love and they are the perfect combo in these soft bakery-style muffins.
Chenée Lewis says
I love it too! Glad you enjoyed them!!
Justin says
Loved the added zest and fresh fruit flavor on these!! So good
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! Glad you like them!
Vicky says
I just love the pairing of chocolate with orange. The fact that these are mini muffins makes them perfect for portion control.
Jean says
I've made these many times, always good, always popular.
Can I use gluten free flour instead?
Chenée Lewis says
Great to hear that! I haven't tried them with gluten-free flour, but I imagine a 1-to-1 flour blend with xanthin gum would work well. Let me know how it works for you!
Jean says
Hi. Do I need to change anything if I do the below:
1. sub half of the AP flour for wholemeal flour?
2. sub chocolare chips for walnuts?
Thanks!
Chenée Lewis says
Hi! I haven't tried this recipe with whole wheat flour, but I would think that subbing up to half of the flour should work out fine! You may want to increase the granulated sugar to 1/3 cup if you're skipping the chocolate chips, or if you prefer your muffins less sweet then just leave it at 1/4 cup. Let me know how they come out! 🙂
Jean says
Just baked, very good! I only used 1/4 cup sugar as wanted them less sweet. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! I'm glad you liked them!
Britney says
I was so excited to make this when I saw it on your instagram and it was better than I could have ever imagined!! So fluffy and delicious!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad they worked out for you!! Thanks 🙂
Marta says
These muffins made me long for the winter! They reminded me so much of Christmastime when I'd get those chocolate-covered oranges in the foil wrappers. I doubled the batch and froze half for later.
Chenée Lewis says
I used to get those too! Takes me back to every Christmas morning when I was a kid.
Chef Mireille says
chocolate and orange are always a great combo - and the tang from the buttermilk increased the flavor so much!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Yeah I love what buttermilk adds to muffins 🙂
Tamara says
Such a delicious muffin! They were easy to make, and the kids and hubby devoured them! Definitely gonna be making these again!!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad they were a hit! 🙂
Adri Ruff says
Chenee, I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but all of your recipes are winners! These muffins were easy and delicious. It was fun to make these with my baby over the long weekend!
Chenée Lewis says
Aww you're too sweet!! That's so awesome that you two were able to spend time together making these! 🙂
Samantha says
I love orange and chocolate together! These muffins are super moist!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! Orange and chocolate are SO great together!!
Capri Lilly says
The orange flavor in this recipe was just right! Paired with the chocolate, this dessert was THE BEST! I've been enjoying these muffins for breakfast 🙂
Chenée Lewis says
Me too!! Breakfast of champions 🙂
Kate says
These look sooo yummy!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you!! They're so tasty!
Renia says
I typically don't like orange anything but these muffins were tasty. I used carob instead of chocolate and it worked well!
Chenée Lewis says
Thanks for giving them a shot! Glad they worked out for you! 🙂