Buttermilk Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins…for Kids AND Grown-ups!

Buttermilk, as I told my mommy dinner group, is a critical success factor for achieving a moist cake, cupcake or muffin.   I use it in my red velvet cake as well as in my husband Kurt’s now-second-favorite-cake-after-the-new-red-velvet-cake, the orange walnut cake.  I recently made a Nigella Lawson buttermilk birthday cake and it was not only moist, but light as well!

I have lots of buttermilk right now because the grocery had only the quart size cartons in stock when I bought some for my mommy dinner.  I’m going to make another red velvet cake tomorrow for Valentine’s day, but today I looked around for a muffin recipe.  A buttermilk muffin recipe with mini chocolate chips to be exact because my son with the eclectic palate doesn’t like fruit in baked goods– except apple tarts!  Go figure.  Not finding a recipe specifically for mini chocolate chips, I decided to use a recipe for blueberry buttermilk muffins and just substitute the blueberries with the mini chips.   You can find the original recipe here.  In addition to the buttermilk, the recipe uses 2 eggs and a stick of melted butter; I expected a moist, soft muffin flecked with mini chips throughout, and couldn’t wait to bake up a batch.

Mini Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Muffins (adapted from Food.com Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins)

• 2 1/2 c AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
• 1 c buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, and cooled to room temperature
• 1 1/2 c mini chocolate chips, tossed with a little flour (to prevent chips from sinking to the bottom when baked)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line one or two regular muffin pans with liners (I ended up with 15 muffins).  Melt the butter over low heat and let cool to room temperature.  Toss the mini chips with some flour.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.

Dry stuff

In another bowl whisk the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter together.

Buttermilk, butter, eggs

Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour the liquids in the center.  Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Pour wet into dry; do not over-mix!

Stir in the chocolate chips and fill muffin liners 3/4 of the way.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown and cake tester inserted in the middle is clean or has just a few crumbs.

Stir chips in gently

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove to rack to finish cooling.

Ready for snacking!

Kurt came in while I was typing this post and said “Are these muffins for tasting?”  Jeez, they were still cooling!  He did say they are very good, so make up a batch and watch them disappear!

Tomorrow.  Red Velvet Cake and Bacon Dates.  Really.