Description

These 45 calorie mini chocolate chip muffins left me incredibly surprised. A low calorie mini muffin that is also tender, soft, and full of flavor. Plus… lots of chocolate.

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour* (spooned & leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup*
1/4 cup (50g) lightly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (125g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt*
2 Tablespoons (29g) butter or coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled*
1 egg white, beaten*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (90g) mini chocolate chips*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray two mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. This recipe makes around 36 muffins, so you will only use half of the 2nd pan. I do not recommend mini liners for these. Set pan aside.
In a large bowl, gently toss the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the maple syrup, brown sugar, yogurt, butter, beaten egg white, and vanilla together until no brown sugar lumps remain and everything is combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or large wooden spoon until *just* combined – do not overmix. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups only about halfway– these muffins rise! A couple teaspoons of batter per cup is plenty. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If your oven has hot spots, be sure to rotate the pans during bake time. My muffins took 12 minutes. Remove pans from the oven. Allow muffins to slightly cool before enjoying.

Notes

So many notes! They’re mostly about substitutions because I know you’ll have some questions. Substitutions for these muffins have a huge impact on their taste, texture, and calorie count. There are substitutions that I suggest, so please review these notes if looking to change anything.

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Muffins stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Muffins can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm to your liking before serving.
Special Tools (affiliate links): Mini Muffin Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
Regular Size Muffins: These can be baked as regular size muffins in a 12-count muffin pan. The bake time will be around 18 minutes at 350°F (177°C), more or less. Please use a toothpick to check doneness. Feel free to calculate the calorie count for regular size muffins.
Flour: Whole wheat flour may be used, but the muffins may taste a little dense. How about using white whole wheat flour or half all-purpose and half whole wheat.
Sweetener: Maple syrup may be replaced with honey or agave, but I much prefer the taste of maple syrup in these muffins.
Yogurt: Nonfat plain Greek yogurt may be substituted for low fat Greek or regular yogurt, vanilla or honey flavored Greek yogurt, or regular nonfat yogurt. I do not recommend sour cream.
Oil & Butter: I do not recommend leaving out the butter or coconut oil. This is what makes these muffins tender and similar to the texture of higher calorie chocolate chip muffins. Do not use applesauce in its place.
Eggs: Without any other changes to the recipe, 1 egg may be substituted for the egg white if you do not want to leave out an egg yolk. Or you can make chewy chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate Chips: Mini chocolate chips are best. You get many more in each muffin which makes them taste so good. Feel free to increase mini chocolate chips to 2/3 cup (I’ve done that– so good!). I do not recommend regular size.

Keywords: mini chocolate chip muffins, low calorie chocolate chip muffins