Easy Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops
Soft on the inside and ever so lightly crispy on the outside, these Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops are an indulgent breakfast treat. Made with nutty brown butter and 2 kinds of chocolate, these muffin tops are packed with flavor.
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Recently, my daughter brought me a batch of her homemade brown butter rye chocolate chip cookies, and I was so smitten with their flavor combination.
The brown butter added a hint of nutty, caramel flavor that enhanced the dark chocolate chunks she used. I just could not stop at one cookie. To be honest, I couldn’t stop at two either.
In addition to the cookies, she also brought me some rye flour.
So, I decided I would use the same main ingredients she used in her cookies to make a small batch of Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops.
What are Muffin Tops?
Muffin Tops are simply the tops of the muffins, without the bottoms. I am not a huge fan of muffins with their soggy (to me) bottoms, so, for a while now, I have been making and feasting on muffin tops (AKA MT’s). I love them so much that I even wrote a book with 51 MT recipes.
These Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip MT’s are similar to the chocolate cherry ones in the book.
What makes these MT’s so good, for me
A nutty aroma and flavor from the browned butter combines with the chocolate, rye, and vanilla for 4 muffin tops that are delectable to dine on.
And, they are so easy to make with only 9 ingredients.
What are the ingredients needed to make these Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops?
The 9 ingredients needed to make this recipe are:
- Rye flour
I used whole-grain, stone-ground rye flour by Farmer Ground. This isn’t sponsored, BTW. However, Amazon has several other rye flour options. Rye flour can be replaced with whole wheat flour, buckwheat flour, or oat flour. It can also be replaced with all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour to suit any dietary preferences. - Baking powder
This helps the muffin tops rise and be airy. - Salt
I used iodized salt in this recipe. - Brown sugar
I opted for this as I thought it would highlight the caramel undertones of the brown butter. - Browned butter
I browned regular dairy butter for this recipe, using the method in this article. Butter that has been browned is said to be lower in lactose than dairy butter. So, if you have issues with lactose, then check out this thread that talks more about the role of separating milk solids in lowering lactose in browned butter. - Egg
Just one large egg is needed for this recipe. - Almond milk
I used some unsweetened almond milk. Almond milk can be replaced with any nut milk or dairy-free milk. - Vanilla extract
I used pure vanilla extract. Vanilla bean paste could also be used. Vanilla adds so much to the combination of browned butter, rye, and chocolate and should not be omitted. - Chocolate
I used a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a portion of a bar of Tony’s Chocoloney Dark Chocolate. The latter is responsible for the pools of chocolate you see on these muffin tops. I have also used milk chocolate mini chips in another batch. And, the dark chocolate works best in this recipe.
Instructions
This is a super-easy recipe to make.
The only tricky part (for me) was browning the butter, which is the first step.
Step 1: Cut a stick of unsalted butter into equal pieces and place them in a sauce pan. A light-colored pan works best. Set the pan over a stovetop set to medium heat to melt butter. The butter will melt and then start to foam. Using a rubber spatula, move the foam to the sides to see the butter at the bottom of the pan. The milk solids will darken to a light golden brown. If cooked longer, they will darken to a dark golden brown. I prefer the dark golden brown butter as the flavor is more what I like for these muffin tops. As soon as the color and aroma are what’re preferred (took about 10 minutes, for me), pour the browned butter into a heat-proof dish to stop the cooking process. Let the brown butter cool until almost room temperature.
Step 2: Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Step 3: In the meantime, place the rye flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir these dry ingredients together with a spoon. Or, whisk flour and other dry ingredients together with a whisk.
Step 4: Then, add in the wet ingredients: the cooled browned butter, almond milk, vanilla extract, and egg, to the flour mixture and stir well. The batter will be thick. Do not try to thin it out. Unlike muffin batter, muffin top batter needs to be thick. I do not use muffin tins or muffin top baking trays to make muffin tops. Just a simple baking sheet. So, the thicker the batter, the easier it is to form it into a dome-shaped muffin top, using a spoon or two.
Step 4: Chop up the chocolate bar.
Step 5: Then, fold the chocolate chips and pieces of the dark chocolate bar into the batter.
Step 6: Spoon tablespoons of the thick batter onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet into 4 dome-shaped forms. Then, using the back of the spoon, gently shape each done so it roughly resembles the top of a muffin. At this point, you can add on more chocolate chips, if you like.
Step 7: Then, place the baking sheet on the upper or upper-middle position in the oven and bake these for 18-20 minutes.
Step 8: Remove from the oven and let the muffin tops cool on a wire rack.
These muffin tops can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. As an option, sprinkle some flaky salt or sea salt on the tops before serving them. But this is totally optional.
They are delicious with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or a cold glass of almond milk.
Recipe Tips
- The muffin top batter will be thick. This thick batter is easy to form into a dome shape, which is characteristic of the tops of bakery-style muffins. However, if the batter is too thick, the resulting muffin tops might be a bit crumbly and dry. If the batter is too thin, the muffin tops will spread and not rise.
- Baking these muffin tops at a high temperature for 18-20 minutes results in MT’s that are soft and moist on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. If these are overbaked, they will tend to be dry. Most ovens differ, so you might want to keep an eye on these muffin tops right around the 18-minute mark.
Storage and reheating
These Brown Butter Rye Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops are best stored wrapped in plastic wrap or an airtight container. They are good for about 5 days stored on your kitchen counter this way. Or, they can last about 3 weeks in the fridge. These can also be frozen, and can last about 3 months frozen.
The refrigerated muffin tops can be reheated in a toaster oven or regular oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. Or, they can be placed on the counter until they are room temperature. As for the frozen MT’s, place these on the counter until they are room temperature, then pop them in a toaster oven to get them to the temperature you prefer.
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Rye flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/3 tsp Salt
- 1/3 cup Brown sugar
- 3 tbsp. Browned butter (Approximately 1/2 stick unsalted butter)
- 2 tbsp. Almond milk
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Chocolate (1/4 cup semi sweet chips and 1/4 cup Tony's Chocolonely dark chocolate bar chopped)
- 1 Egg
Instructions
- Cut a stick of unsalted butter into equal pieces and place them in a sauce pan. Set the pan over a stovetop set to medium heat. The butter will melt and then start to foam. Using a rubber spatula, move the foam to the sides to see the butter at the bottom of the pan. The milk solids will darken to a light golden brown. If cooked longer, they will darken to a dark golden brown. I prefer the dark golden brown butter as the flavor is more what I like for these muffin tops. As soon as the color and aroma are what’s preferred (took about 10 minutes, for me), pour the browned butter into a heat-proof dish to stop the cooking process. Let the brown butter cool until almost room temperature.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the rye flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir these dry ingredients together with a spoon.
- Then, add in the wet ingredients: the cooled browned butter, almond milk, vanilla extract, and egg, to the flour mixture and stir well. The batter will be thick. Do not try to thin it out.
- Chop up the chocolate bar.
- Then, fold the chocolate chips and pieces of the dark chocolate bar into the batter.
- Spoon tablespoons of the thick batter onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet into 4 dome-shaped forms. Then, using the back of the spoon, gently shape each done so it roughly resembles the top of a muffin. At this point, you can add on more chocolate chips on top of each MT, if you like.
- Then, place the baking sheet on the upper rack in the oven and bake these for 18-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the muffin tops cool on a wire rack.
- These muffin tops can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or a cold glass of almond milk.
Notes
- The muffin top batter will be thick. This thick batter is easy to form into a dome shape, which is characteristic of the tops of bakery-style muffins. However, if the batter is too thick, the resulting muffin tops might be a bit crumbly and dry. If the batter is too thin, the muffin tops will spread and not rise.
- Baking these muffin tops at a high temperature for 18-20 minutes results in MT’s that are soft and moist on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. If these are overbaked, they will tend to be dry. Most ovens differ, so you might want to keep an eye on these muffin tops right around the 18-minute mark.
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Wow – these brown butter rye chocolate chip muffin tops look irresistible, and I absolutely love the flavour of rye! The nutty depth must pair beautifully with the chocolate.
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Thank you for sharing this recipe
The flavors in this recipe are so tasty. I love using brown butter in my bakes and I am browning some butter right now to make these muffin tops with!