In my sophomore year of high school, I signed up for AP World History. The course sped through the material at a much faster rate than the regular or honors classes, starting with a ten-chapter summer reading assignment from the college-level textbook, along with a corresponding test on the first day of school, and culminating in a country-wide cumulative AP Exam in the middle of May.
Since the course essentially ended with that huge exam, yet our school year finished a month later in mid-June, our teacher came up with some low-key assignments for those last few weeks to appease the principal and school board. We watched a few historical movies in class, including “Schindler’s List” and “Forrest Gump,” while scribbling answers on accompanying worksheets, and our teacher also handed out a group project during that time.
For the assignment, each team “founded” their own country, complete with a flag, national anthem, and basic government legislation, that we then presented to the rest of the class. With only a few class periods to work on it, my friends and I completed most of the project one weekend at my house.
Since she knew we’d be working all day long, writing those legal-like papers and practicing our national anthem performance, one girl’s mom stopped by a little bakery before dropping off her daughter. She picked up a few dozen mini muffins for us to nibble on as we sorted through the details, and they came in white paper bags with classic flavors like lemon poppy seed, blueberry, and chocolate chip. Even with just five of us girls, we still managed to polish off every last crumb by the time we finished!
When I talked with one of my other friends last week, she mentioned that AP testing had started at the school where she worked, and that brought back those memories from my sophomore year. As a result, I started craving mini muffins all over again… But I skipped the store-bought ones and baked these Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins instead!
This healthy recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and I’ve also included my preferred gluten-free option in the Notes section beneath the recipe.
While many traditional muffin recipes call for ½ cup of oil—or more!—this one is the exact opposite. Your skinny mini muffins get the majority of their tender texture from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking. Do you know what it is? That’s right—it’s Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your baked treats a protein boost, too!
To sweeten these little beauties, you’ll skip the refined sugar and mix in a combination of honey and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor, and it has virtually no aftertaste. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And of course, the best part… The mini chocolate chips! (Yes, I’m a huge chocoholic—it’s why I wrote my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!) These are one of my favorite brands of mini chips because they melt really well and they taste extra rich. Don’t forget to save a few to press into the tops of the batter for a pretty presentation!
A quick note about liners… Low-fat muffins (and cupcakes) stick to liners like superglue because they contain so little butter and oil, so I highly recommend skipping them for this recipe. If you do decide to bake your mini muffins in paper liners like I did in these photos, you must generously coat the liners with cooking spray. They’ll still stick a little if you don’t coat the liners completely, but this trick prevents the muffin sides from sticking quite so much.
Time for breakfast! And a snack… And dessert… Yes, I may have eaten more than my fair share of these—whoops! ? When you bake your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking. I’d love to see your mini muffins!
| Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- ¾ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
- 5 tbsp (70g) miniature chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 32 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Mix in the honey and stevia. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 11-14 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Agave or pure maple syrup may be substituted for the honey.
If you prefer, an additional 6 tablespoons of honey may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia, and the milk should be reduced to 6 tablespoons to compensated for the added liquid.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Be VERY careful if using liners! Generously coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray before adding the muffin batter. This batter will stick to liners like superglue if they aren’t coated with cooking spray.
If you prefer, this recipe will yield 12 standard sized muffins. The baking temperature remains the same. Begin checking on them after about 15 minutes. The muffins will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm to the touch.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar, higher protein}
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Ahhhh, a classic never dies! Love how simple the ingredient list is Amy! Mini muffins are probably my favorite because then I can just eat more…hehe oops. 😉
We’re like two peas in a pod Marina — that’s exactly why I love mini muffins too! ?
1) Those muffins are so fluffy I’m gonna die!
2) I LOATHED that AP US History class!! I’m 100% serious when I say that class was harder than 95% of the classes I took in college… All that dry reading did nothing for me but make my head hurt… lol. I think the only good thing I got out of that class was the assignment to read “Lies My Teacher Told Me” over the summer- that was interesting! Haha, thanks for the memory girl! 😉
I actually loved APUSH! This was a story about the year before with AP World, which I definitely didn’t like so much. 😉
Every time I try to bake with Greek yogurt, the product is gummy and not fluffy. I even tried doing half Greek yogurt half butter, but no dice. I followed the recipe even to the point of mixing the ingredient separately (except I used white flour)! What am I doing wrong?
Oh goodness, that’s not right at all! Are you referring to every time you try one of my recipes with Greek yogurt, or are you referring to baking with Greek yogurt in other people’s recipes? That will help us solve the issue Caroline! 🙂
If I wanted to replace stevia with sugar, how much should I put in? Help please 😀
I answer that in the Notes section beneath the Instructions! 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the mini muffins Zeljana!
Can I bake this recipe in a bread pan? or in a regular cake pan?
Yes, I think that should work Diana! Since I haven’t done that myself, I don’t know how long it’ll take to bake. Set the oven temperature to 350°F, and use the toothpick test (when inserted, it should come out clean) to determine when it’s done. I’m excited to hear how that turns out!
Hi Amy! I just made these amazing mini muffins and they are to die for! I love reading the stories behind each and every recipe! I always follow your recipes exactly how you describe them and I know I am guaranteed perfect results every time. I know you perfect your recipes before sharing them with us so thank you for that. Gotta run before my boys finish all 32 muffins!
I’m so glad you and your boys loved these mini muffins along with the carrot cake oatmeal cookies! I’m truly touched that you read my stories, and I’m honored by your kind words about my recipes. You’re such a sweetheart Carmelina — thank you so much!! ♡
I just wanted to say that I only have 4 muffins left as of this morning! I laugh every time I see your note about how long the baked goods can be stored because in my house they don’t last 24 hours. Oh…I forgot to mention I used organic whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out perfectly. I am making another batch tonight as well as the bran glory muffins. I am re-doing my recipe book to include ALL your baked goods recipes since I will be making them over and over and over again. By the way, I told my friends about your blog! I’m not on any social media (simply due to lack of time) so I am getting my boys and friends to like you on Facebook. Thanks again!
WOW!! Carmelina, you’re a true sweetheart!! I’m truly honored that you’d ask your boys and their friends to like my Facebook page. That means so much to me! 🙂 And I’m even more touched that you’re redoing your recipe book to include my recipes because you’re enjoying them so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! ♡
So yummy and very quick. Literally so good though!
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Ali! 🙂
I love these muffins ! I typically use a whole wheat flour but I used an unbleached flour and stuck to the recipe until the stevia I only had the baking granules so I used an 1/8 of a cup and used 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and then agave in place of honey these turned out fantastic. I made the 12 standard size and it took around 17 minutes at 350F thank you for a delicious treat !
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Amy! Thank you for sharing your modifications too — I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work! 🙂
I’m so stoked about these mini muffins! I have a killer sweet tooth, and while I don’t have any special dietary restrictions, I’m just trying to cut back on refined sugars and “wasted” calories. But trying to get rid of sweets altogether, at least right now, seems impossible. I gave this recipe a go with A LOT of skepticism, and I’m blown away with the results! They were so light, tender, and perfectly sweetened. I even sprung for the Stevia drops and white whole wheat flour, and tried the agave instead of the honey. Totally different from the other “healthified” treats I’ve tried in the past.
Stumbled upon your site from Pinterest, and I’m glad I did. I’ll be checking out your other mini muffin and dessert recipes next! I’m so happy to have a post-dinner treat that satisfies my sweet tooth without the guilt. Thanks Amy!
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Carrie!! That means so much to me that you trusted me and my recipe — and that you even bought the vanilla stevia and white whole wheat flour. I’m truly honored! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you recipe you try next! (And to make things a little easier, here is a direct link to all of my mini muffin recipes! 😉 )
Hi there! Just tried this recipe tonight and was a huge hit! I made the following modifications to up the ‘healthiness’ even more: reduced flour to 1 1/4 cup (although used all-purpose), added 1 cup oats, added 1/2 cup milled flaxseed. And instead of stevia, I added 1/4 cup brown sugar – although next time, I may even reduce it to 2-3 tbsp brown sugar or even none at all. My kids (and husband) ate two each as soon as they came out of the oven 🙂 Thanks again — this one is a keeper.
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed these mini muffins June! Thanks for sharing your modifications with me — I always love to hear what tweaks work! 🙂