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    Home » Breakfast » Muffins

    Toasted Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

    5 from 5 votes
    Published by Rebecca Eisenberg ⁠— May 24, 2021 (updated February 6, 2023) — 12 Comments

    105 shares
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    This post may contain affiliate links

    These toasted hazelnut chocolate chip muffins are absolutely jam-packed packed with so much crunchy, nutty chocolatey goodness. They're really easy to make, and use freshly toasted hazelnuts in two different ways to make sure that toasty, hazelnut-y flavor is present in every single bite.

    Two people who tried tester muffins described them as "Ferrero Rocher in muffin form," so if that sounds appealing to you, you're in the right place.

    an overhead shot of muffins on a cooling rack. some have been turned on their sides.

    This recipe for toasted hazelnut chocolate chip muffins actually started as a hazelnut tea cake I made in my first chaotic week of pastry school. That recipe used Gianduja, a creamy hazelnut chocolate that is super hard to find for home baking purposes. It had a very soft, delicate cake-like crumb, and was so, so good.

    I've been wanting to develop a muffin recipe for a while now and when I was thinking about my perfect muffin flavor, I just kept coming back to how much I loved that tea cake.

    I've adapted that original recipe so much at this point they barely resemble each other, but the chocolate and hazelnut inspiration hasn't gone anywhere. In fact, it's even more pronounced in these toasted hazelnut chocolate chip muffins than it was in the original tea cake.

    Instead of Gianduja chocolate, we're stirring in toasted hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips. Instead of a tender, cake-like texture, we have the larger, more crumbly texture you expect from muffins.

    And while the original recipe used a bit of almond flour, we're pulverizing a portion of the toasted hazelnuts to make a hazelnut flour that will really emphasize the toasted hazelnut flavor that gives these toasted hazelnut chocolate chip muffins their name.

    That's in addition to the chunky toasted hazelnuts that get stirred in with the mini chocolate chips at the end.

    So yeah. Hazelnut City, population: these muffins.

    a stack of three muffins. hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips are on the counter around it.

    the secret to mixing muffin batter

    If you've ever made muffins that had weird tunnel-like cavities inside after baking, that means you over mixed your batter.

    Gluten development is the enemy of tender muffins — gluten creates structure and the batter will tighten up and trap air when the muffins bake. That's what causes the tunnels. You don't want that!

    When you add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, your goal is to combine them in as few movements as possible. The perfect time to add your mix-ins (that's chopped hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips here) is right before the wet ingredients and dry ingredients are fully combined.

    Add the chopped hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips when you can still see some of the dry mixture in the bowl — the dry ingredients will finish mixing in as you stir in the nuts and chocolate.

    As soon as the hazelnuts and chocolate chips are evenly distributed and there's no dry bits left, stop mixing!

    A final note: Muffin batter is lumpy and clumpy — that's okay. The lumps will bake out in the oven.

    a few quick recipe notes

    • Blanched, peeled hazelnuts work best for these muffins. These are the hazelnuts I usually order online. If you can only find hazelnuts with skins on, you'll need to remove the skins by rolling the toasted nuts around in a clean towel until the skins fall off. You may need to toast them again after you remove the skins — you want the pale flesh to be a deep golden brown color.
    • Instead of making your own hazelnut flour with a mini food processor you can use hazelnut flour.
    • TEMPERATURES MATTER. If the eggs and buttermilk are cold or even just cool when you stir in the melted butter, the butter will begin to firm up. You will get a very different texture than if you stir the melted butter into room temperature eggs and buttermilk. See FAQ (below) for how to get eggs and buttermilk to room temp fast.
    • I use a large OXO cookie scoop to portion my muffin batter into the tins.
    • My fave muffin tin is this 12-well standard sized muffin pan by USA Pan (they're based in my hometown of Pittsburgh!). It's super easy to clean and I like the wide rim which makes it easy to pull in and out of the oven without accidentally digging a thumb into your muffins. These cupcake liners fit in that tin perfectly.
    • The 30 minute resting period after you finish mixing gives the baking powder time to activate and helps the muffins rise in the oven. Technically this step is optional; you can bake them right away, but you'll get better results if you let the batter rest first.
    • If you're making JUMBO muffins, this recipe makes about 6 muffins and they'll need to bake for 25-30 minutes — after 25 minutes start checking every 2 mins until a toothpick comes out clean.
    • To get a nice crunchy top, you'll want a generous sprinkling of granulated sugar over the top of each muffin before baking. I tried these with turbinado sugar (aka raw sugar) too, but the raw sugar made the tops sticky and moist. I prefer the crispy crunchy top you get from the granulated sugar.
    • The rolled oat topping is optional, but if you decide to go for it make sure you're using QUICK COOKING rolled oats. Regular rolled oats won't soften enough in the oven and are unpleasant to eat. I had some quick cooking rolled oats in my pantry and sprinkled them on top of one muffin batch and they added such a nice nutty flavor and texture to the muffin tops that I couldn't not include that as an option. But if you don't already have them on hand, it's definitely not necessary to go out and buy them just for these muffins.
    a muffin that's been split open on a small plate with a fork beside it. the inside is filled with chocolate chips and large hazelnut chunks.

    recipe FAQ

    I don't have a cookie scoop, what can I use to make sure my batter is portioned evenly?

    Each muffin is about 3½ tablespoons of batter and each well of the tin should be about ⅔ of the way full.

    Can I use a blender to make the hazelnut flour?

    Yes. Just be careful with the blender — some blenders are designed to make nut butters. Don't let the blender run for too long or that's where you'll end up!

    Do I have to use buttermilk? What can I use instead?

    After baking so much with real buttermilk in pastry school I can tell you the results you get using buttermilk hacks like this just aren't great. I do recommend using real buttermilk to make these. If you absolutely can't find it, the next best substitute is plain, whole milk yogurt (not Greek yogurt)... but your muffins will be a little more dense than if you used buttermilk.

    Can I use regular chocolate chips instead of mini chocolate chips?

    The reason I used mini chocolate chips is because they're lighter and less likely to sink to the bottom of the muffins. You can certainly use regular chocolate chips, I'm not going to show up at your house and smack them out of your hands (it's a free world, etc, etc), but if they sink to the bottom of the muffins and you're unhappy about that well... don't blame me!

    How do I get my eggs and buttermilk to room temperature quickly?

    Put the eggs in a bowl of very hot tap water for 5-10 minutes. For the buttermilk you can microwave it in 5-7 second bursts, stirring in between until it's lukewarm to the touch.

    I don't have a kitchen scale, can I still make these?

    I usually do try to provide measurements in cups with my baking recipes, but measuring by volume is deeply inconsistent and you might not get great results. The measurements also didn't translate neatly to volumetric measurements and I was ending up with a lot of 1 and 2/7th of a cup measurements and I really didn't feel like doing more math. So if you'd like to go ahead and convert this all to cups you're welcome to do so on your own time. Or, you can buy a kitchen scale — they're very inexpensive and will make you a much better baker!

    other recipes inspired by pastry school

    • Rosemary chocolate chip loaf cake
    • Pineapple habanero jam
    • Chocolate wrapped chocolate chip slice-n-bake cookies
    • Crumb cake ice cream
    a close up of a muffin on two small dessert plates

    toasted hazelnut chocolate chip muffins

    Rebecca Eisenberg
    These toasted hazelnut chocolate chip muffins are absolutely jam-packed packed with so much crunchy, chocolatey goodness. They're really easy to make, and use freshly toasted hazelnuts in two different ways to make sure that toasty, hazelnut-y flavor is present in every single bite.
    Yield: 12-15 muffins.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved! Email
    Prep Time 40 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Resting time 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 30 mins
    Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 muffins

    Equipment

    • Standard muffin tin
    • #20 cookie scoop (3 tablespoons)
    • Kitchen scale
    • Small food processor

    Ingredients
      

    • 170 grams blanched hazelnuts
    • 170 grams all-purpose flour
    • 85 grams sugar
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
    • 113 grams buttermilk (room temperature)
    • 113 grams unsalted butter (melted)
    • 2 large eggs (room temperature)
    • 85 grams mini chocolate chips
    • additional sugar (for topping)
    • quick-cooking rolled oats (optional, for topping)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350°F.
    • Arrange hazelnuts on a sheet pan and toast until dark golden brown 15-20 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes so they don’t burn. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
    • Weigh 57 grams of the toasted hazelnuts into the bowl of a mini food processor. Process until the hazelnuts are a very fine powder, almost like a nut flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
    • Rough chop the remaining hazelnuts and set aside (these will get mixed in later). This can be a fairly large chop — you don’t want any whole hazelnuts, but halves and quarters are fine.
    • To the ground hazelnuts in the mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and whisk to combine.
    • In another bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Then pour in the melted butter, whisking constantly. Whisk vigorously until very well combined.
      The butter will firm up if the egg and buttermilk are too cold so make sure they’re truly lukewarm before you add the butter!
    • Use a spatula to gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. You don’t want to develop gluten here, so the goal is to mix in as few movements as possible. When there is just a bit of dry mixture still visible, add the chopped hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips. Continue folding just until no dry bits remain and the inclusions are evenly distributed. Do not overmix.
    • Cover and let sit 30 minutes at room temperature.
    • Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Use a large cookie scoop to divide the batter between the tins. You may have extra batter — divide it between the tins or into any that need a bit more.
    • Top each muffin with ½ teaspoon granulated sugar (mandatory) and quick rolled oats (optional).
    • Bake 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
    • Let cool 5-10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

    RECIPE NOTES

    • To get eggs to room temperature quickly place them in a bowl of very hot water for 5-10 minutes. 
    • To get buttermilk to room temperature quickly microwave in 5-7 second bursts, stirring in between.
    • If you're using a large food processor or blender to make the hazelnut flour be careful — if run them too long they'll turn into hazelnut butter! Stop once it looks like flour. 

    YOUR NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes. Only you can see these.
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me how it was!
    DessertsMuffinsChocolateHazelnut
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Toon

      June 12, 2021 at 6:38 am

      5 stars
      These look really very good! I always make gingerbread muffins, but I am going to try these also!

      Reply
    2. Cecile

      June 15, 2021 at 1:52 pm

      5 stars
      These came out great!! I successfully used yogurt thinned with a little milk to approximate buttermilk. I didn't use paper muffin liners, just sprayed the pan with non stick spray and they came out fine. Recipe made exactly 12.I didn't have mini chocolate chips but successfully chopped by hand some dark chocolate (the Trader Joe's Pound Plus bar) and that worked great. My full size food processor was started to turn the hazelnuts pasty rather than flour-like, so I stopped chopping short of that stage, giving me very very finely chopped hazelnuts, and that worked fine. Used all weights for ingredients like in the recipe.

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        June 16, 2021 at 9:14 pm

        This sounds great. I’m so glad you loved them and thank you for leaving such a detailed review!!!

        Reply
    3. Laura

      July 07, 2021 at 8:43 pm

      5 stars
      Two people who tried tester muffins described them as “Ferrero Rocher in muffin form." - heck yeah!! And they were right. I made these jumbo because when I want a muffin, I want a MUFFIN, and they turned out great. Also, thank you for the tips on folding and resting; they really improved my muffin results!

      Reply
    4. Hailey

      August 18, 2021 at 5:54 pm

      So good I could cry. Never had anything like this before (aside from an actual fererro rocher). So good and delicate in flavor with all the cronch I could ever want. As always, your recipes truly never fail. Will certainly be making again (and may need to double 😋)

      Reply
    5. Hailey

      August 18, 2021 at 5:55 pm

      5 stars
      So good I could cry. Never had anything like this before (aside from an actual fererro rocher). So good and delicate in flavor with all the cronch I could ever want. As always, your recipes truly never fail. Will certainly be making again (and may need to double 😋)

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        August 18, 2021 at 5:56 pm

        😍😍😍😍😍 so glad you loved them!!! This review is so good I could cry!

        Reply
    6. April

      January 16, 2022 at 8:14 pm

      Just made these today with leftover hazelnuts from holidays. I measured all the ingredients exactly and mixed it just as directed, and the texture was sooo nice. I added the rolled oats on top but like 3/4 of them fell off when I took the muffins out of the pan, so I won’t bother with them if I made this recipe again.

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        January 18, 2022 at 10:53 am

        Such a good way to use up leftover hazelnuts!

        Reply
    7. nicole

      May 25, 2022 at 9:20 pm

      i need to try these asap! question though, i have just under what is called for of hazlenuts (maybe 20 grams off) and theyre pre chopped ones that still have some skin bits on. off the top of your head, do you think itd be worth giving it a go with maybe a different nut to sub in for the rest of the mix in chopped bits, or too much of a variable change with skins and an additional nut? unsure if trying to powder the skin on bits will mess with the process. i was going to grab hazlenuts in this this week's grocery shop but if i can get away with what i have, thatd be even better.

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        May 26, 2022 at 9:54 am

        The only place in the recipe it would make a difference is in the hazelnut flour - if you're a little light on the mix ins that's okay! You can def sub in another nut to make up for it, but as long as you have the right amount of hazelnut flour in the batter, you should be fine. It's up to you!

        Reply
    8. nicole

      June 14, 2022 at 1:57 pm

      5 stars
      made a big batch of these last week and ohhh yeah, they are tasty! the only change i made was to use up some pre-chopped hazelnuts i had as part of the mix ins, about 50/50 with the ones i bought and chopped myself. just made for having a variety of mix in sized chunks which worked out well. really lovely flavor, lots of crunchy bits, and the right amount of sweetness without being too much. the crunchy tops were A+, definitely dont skip the sugar before baking! half were gifted to neighbors who also had good things to say about them, so i think its safe to say they were a hit 🙂

      one note- grab more hazelnuts than the recipe calls for juuust to be safe. in case youre like me, who looked away at exactly the wrong time, and turned her hazelnut flour into paste XD it goes pretty quick from 'correct' to 'making my own nutella', but since i had a whole bag of hazelnuts it wasnt a big deal. just added some sugar and cocoa to the paste for a spread for later and made another batch of flour, paying better attention this time. just keep your eye on it and youll be fine!

      Reply

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