How To Make Perfect Mini Muffins

5 from 29 votes
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white plate with Mini Muffins and fresh strawberries
How To: Make Perfect Mini Muffins

True confessions time for this mom: I hate mini muffins tins. I love a good mini muffin recipe. however. Oh, how I loathe those little buggers, with their shiny little places to scrub out – all 24 of them in one pan!- how they love to stick no matter how you grease them and how you never can get that batter in evenly with a blasted spoon. Ever.

However, school time is arriving on our doorsteps sooner than this mom would like and it’s time to start gearing up for the season of school baking that is soon upon us. I am so depressed, where did the summer go?

And as much as I hate mini muffin tins, I adore mini muffins. They are bite size for my son and full sized for my daughter, leaving no waste with either child and the sheer cuteness factor is always a hit.

So I wanted to solve the problem of the mess I usually make.

First, forgive yourself for ruining the environment and use paper liners. Once you have atoned, and deeply, realize you’ll probably go to Hades for it, move past your guilt and onto making some batter!

This recipe is a favorite of ours:

Here’s where I also destroy the environment, melt the polar ice caps and increase my carbon footprint by using another disposable item, a plastic icing bag, but I will admit I do have reusable icing bags. I simply couldn’t find them in the middle of the sorting and packing mess that my house now is. These I found. These I used. These I love.

 

mini muffin tins lined with white paper liners, a plastic icing bag with mixed batter

Using the icing bag, fill up the muffin tins evenly and let me tell you, WHAT a difference this icing bag makes! No tapping a spoon, no using your finger to try and push muffin batter into the little tins, just pure easy peasy goodness. This is what makes this mini muffin recipe so great, it’s so easy!

 

mini muffin tins filled up with muffin batter

Give the pan a few taps on the counter, to settle the batter just that little bit more then pop into the oven and bake until they look like these beauties below.

Notice how clean that muffin pan is? I put it right back into the cupboard, I didn’t even have to clean it! This is a very, very good thing, in my muffin-tin-scrubbing-hating world.

The muffins didn’t overflow. They had none of that extra batter that using a spoon always gets on the sides of the cups. You know what I am talking about, that one “drip” that always seems to be cemented into the liner, thus ruining the whole muffin when it bakes the liner into the muffin.

Or am I the only one that batter drip happens to?

freshly baked Mini Muffins in muffin tins

Ah. Looky there. Because these muffins have oil in them, the liners peel so beautifully from them. Liners are harder to use when you cut out the oil and use applesauce, the crumbs stick right to the liner most times.

a piece of mini muffin with paper liner removed in a red cooling rack

Voila, c’est fini! C’est magnifique!

close up Mini Muffins and fresh strawberries in a white plate

Is anyone else feeling the back to school blues? Mourning the summer being over, the loss of your children’s company all day, the sadness over not being able to sit at a splashpark in the sun, reading while your kids have fun galore?

I have mixed feelings this summer, on one hand there is nothing I adore more than spending two months with my kids, even though they may drive me crazy at times. However, with school in I will have 6 glorious hours a day to clean, sort and pack this house up. Six. Hours. Child free. This is monumental beyond words for productivity.

And of course, my littlest nestling is leaving me for the entire day now too, she’s off to Grade one, leaving her mama behind in the dust. I know we are going to have one tired little girl for the next month, it takes a lot of adjusting for kids to get used to a full day of school.

I hope everyone had a fantastic summer, enjoyed time with their families and are all prepared to send our littles back to school!

Love,

The Kitchen Magpie

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Mini Muffins Recipe

My tips and tricks for making the best mini muffins - with my delicious banana chocolate chip mini muffin recipe!
5 from 29 votes
close up Mini Muffins and fresh strawberries in a white plate
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Total Time
20 minutes
Course
Breakfast
Cuisine
American
Servings
24
Calories
147
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
  • 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Whisk together your dry ingredients.
  • Mix the egg,vanilla, oil, sour cream and bananas together.
  • Combine the wet and dry until they are almost mixed thoroughly, then add in the chocolate chips. Don't over mix the batter.
  • Place into your lined or greased unlined muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375 degrees until beautifully browned, about 10 minutes for mini's and 20 for large.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 147kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 58mg, Potassium: 78mg, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 60IU, Vitamin C: 0.8mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 0.6mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

Site Index Banana Chocolate chips Muffins

Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Olivia says

    hellow,

    Very informative article i have seen after a long time , i know it will definetely help me.
    Finally my query is solved after reading thoroughly complete article.

  2. Jodi says

    Hi!! How high do you fill each mini muffin tin 🙂 ?? They look scrumptious

  3. Kaylen Ricker says

    Use Baker’s Joy spray instead of the regular kind. The baking kind has flour in it so the muffins pop right out. Then you can throw the pan in the dishwasher. I made 2 trays with almost no cleanup time (except putting the pan in the dishwasher) in like an hour.5 stars

  4. Carmen Jochmann says

    I agree those mini muffin tins are awful! But the little mini delights you can make are fabulous. Love the tips! thanks for sharing5 stars

  5. Joymarie says

    we have an egg allergy but this recipe was easily converted to eggless!  I omitted the egg added 1/4 cup apple sauce and reduced oil to 1/4 cup,added and extra 1/2 tsp Baking soda… the banana acted as the binder.  The muffins came out BEAUTIFUL!  Nice and moist and no flat tops!   Thanks for sharing 🙂  

    5 stars

  6. julka says

    Hello, does this recipe make exactly 24 mini muffins? I have a 3 year old grandson who loves all granma’s muffins and I’d love to make him these for school snack time.

  7. Pooh Bear says

    Thanks for the recipe! Just made it today, it was quick and tasty! However, somehow my muffins rose and was flat instead of nice and rounded. Do you have any tips to get about that? I used mini muffin paper cups, which retains its shape even without using a muffin tray. 

    • thekitchenmagpie says

      @Pooh Bear Could be anything from the humidity, to your elevation to old baking powder or soda! Sometimes rising and falling is also overmixing as well.

  8. Spanish teacher says

    I used my recipe for banana muffins/bread and your crumble topping. Delicious! I have several sizes of dishers. I used an appropriate size for the mini muffins. Way easier, less mess, and I can pop it in the dishwasher! 

  9. Butterfly says

    Can I use something else besides chocolate chips? 

    • thekitchenmagpie says

      @Butterfly Nuts or leave them out, the muffins will be tasty!

  10. BunnyFilms says

    Great mini muffins! I replaced the sour cream with milk and they turned out awesome! This is also my 5th time making these. I love them!

  11. susupala1 says

    Thanks for the recipe – it sounds simple and delicious! I thought of using it for my friend’s birthday party but because it’s an adult party I’m gonna do chocolate-whisky and lemon-rum mini-muffins 😉 He turns 28 so I had an idea of doing 14 of both types and forming the number 28 of them 🙂

  12. susupala1 says

    Thanks for the recipe, it sounds really simple and tasty. I’m gonna try it but I’ll do a bit different version. A good friend of mine turns 28 next month and I thought about making 28 mini muffins for his birthday party. As it is an adult party, I’m gonna do 14 lemon-rum mini muffins and 14 chocolate-whiskey mini muffins and make the number 28 of them 😉 Greetings from Finland!

  13. ZoeKea says

    How many mini-muffins does this recipe make?  48 maybe?  They sound delicious and I plan to make them this weekend….just not sure if I need to double the batch or not to get 48.  Thanks.

  14. pigglett6 says

    I think it sucks that you say “forgive yourself for ruining the environment” since you’re sharing this advice with many people.I’m glad I don’t have kids I wouldn’t want them to live to see”your earth” or your self centered attitude. I feel bad for your children what they are learning from you. “Screw the environment”!

    • thekitchenmagpie says

      @pigglett6 I think it sucks that you don’t have anything better to do than read THAT much into a comment.  Did you read the whole thing or just pull out one comment and then run with it wildly and crazy, turning it into something it never was? The words “screw the environment” were never written. Tone done on the Friday night wine a bit or at least drink enough that you understand sarcasm.

      • julka says

        thekitchenmagpie Haha, I love your sense of humour. I think pigglett is one of those stalker types who search for great people to criticize.

    • Tammy H says

      Grow up piglet! What a ridiculous comment to purposely waste your time and everyone else’s just to be a bully! YES we ALL care about the environment! But we have to live as well! You know nothing at all about this blogger and what she does to make our environment better! Go be a bully somewhere Ms. Piglette PERFECT!5 stars

  15. Meg says

    Thank you so very much.. I do not Facebook or Twit.. If I did, I would ‘like’ you.. Thanks again

  16. marilynB says

    These are absolutely fabulous!  Baked as directed as everyone loved them.. Recipe made quite a few, so I froze them and then frosted a bunch with my granddaughter who added sprinkles to them….now we have wonderful little cupcakes for kids.  What a nice win-win!

    5 stars

  17. AubreyK says

    I am currently making these and they are delicious. I doubled the recipe, added pumpkin instead of banana, regular sized chocolate chips (since I didn’t have enough mini ones), and added some cinnamon and pumpkin spice. they turned out super moist and yummy!! I made big ones and mini ones and they’re both perfect. Thank you!!!

    5 stars

  18. Janel says

    I have (several) of my own recipes but I love the baking tips you have.  I  despise scrubbing a mini (or any size) muffin pan.  I’ve never used the liners but I think I will this time….it’s for a brunch of 10-15 people & what I don’t want is someones grimy hands / fingers in the muffin basket lol  I also have those disposable icing bags…now I know what they were really intended to use for 😉  Glad I took the time to read the whole thing, you have a great sense of humor.  Can’t wait to try your little tips / ideas….I love baking but now it sounds like more fun, thanks!

    5 stars

  19. Patricia Hill says

    Amazing!! Thanks. I opted for Lemon & blueberry – so added zest of 3 lemons and juice of 2 (so replacing chocolate chips & bananas) – they are just perfect!! Taking 2 batches to family weekend. Thanks again.

    5 stars

    • thekitchenmagpie says

      Patricia Hill I am SO glad that you liked them! Thanks for letting me know! 

  20. Mja says

    Hi – I recently discovered a kitchen tool that you might enjoy. It is a medium-size “ice cream” scoop. It makes perfectly sized cookies and muffins (and meatballs -but not at the same time). It eliminates the messy spoon dropped created perfectly sized bites at the same time.

    • cookingwithviolet says

      I bought one of these at the dollar store and love it for cookies too 😉

  21. Sasha says

    I just made mini-muffins with a silicone “tin” and it was the easiest baking batch ever. They just popped right out, the drips peeled off, a little soapy water and all done!

  22. Karlynn says

    Glad they were a hit Kelly! That’s so cute that he’s waiting for his special snack day….I miss those days!

  23. Kelly says

    I made these to bring to my son’s preschool for his snack and they turned out awesome! I had to omit the chocolate chips since I couldn’t find nut-free at the store I was at and I added some pumpkin puree since I didn’t have enough banana.  My little guy woofed them down so fast and he can’t wait for his special snack day tomorrow. 🙂

    5 stars

  24. Allison B says

    What a bunch of terrific pointers… I’m off to find mini liners and icing bags… I was dreading trying to clean thoses tiny pans as well.

  25. Jennifer McMorris says

    Just made your mini muffins! They are perfect ! A nice combination of healthy from the banana and a bit of decadence from the chocolate!! Thanks for sharing!!

    5 stars

    • Karlynn says

      Oh excellent! I am so glad to hear it, they are a hit with my kids. I love that you can put chocolate chips in almost anything and the kids think it’s SUCH a treat!

  26. Light says

    Hee hee I also destroy the world with my paper liners. But I make u.p for it in other ways so its all good:)
    They’d be perfect for school lunches

    5 stars

  27. Aditya1707 says

    This recipe certainly looks perfect and I’m going to try it at some point 🙂  By the way, I remembered you the other day while driving and listening to music.  Did you know that there’s a Radiohead song called Good Morning, Mr. Magpie? 😀

  28. Melissa Penney says

    I am for sure using the icing bag next time! Usually I use a bottle brush to clean the tins. Works well, minus the carpel tunnel you get after.

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