Dark Chocolate Orange Muffins with Orange Glaze

These chocolate orange muffins will have you counting down the minutes until break time so you can dig in. Dark chocolate chips combined with a batter containing orange juice and orange zest, plus a vanilla orange glaze drizzled on top will leave you in citrus heaven. Easily batched, meal prepped, and frozen.

Before jumping to the recipe please note that the below information contains HOT TIPS for this recipe. We try and answer all your questions to guarantee a perfect lunchbox recipe every time.

Love having a little bite of something sweet for an afternoon pick-me-up? Why not add a batch of these Banana Biscoff Muffins to your next meal prepping afternoon and have them ready to grab-n-go in the morning?

🧁 Dark Chocolate Chip Orange Muffins Recipe

These super orangey muffins combine not only orange juice, but orange zest in the batter, making sure that the bright citrus pop comes through and pairs perfectly with the richness of the dark chocolate chips.

Chocolate and orange really is a match made in heaven!

Topped with a vanilla orange glaze, these muffins are super moist, not too sweet, and oh so moreish.

This chocolate orange muffin recipe is also:

• Budget-friendly: no fancy ingredients needed.
• Freezer-friendly: These muffins freeze really well, so are just perfect for batch prepping and freezing for a busy week. Freeze the cooled muffins on a baking sheet and once frozen simply transfer them to a ziplock bag or freezer bag. This way it is easy to remove one muffin at a time without them sticking together. If you remove them from the freezer in the morning and pop them into lunchboxes when you are packing them they should be thawed by the afternoon. I suggest freezing without the glaze as it can get a little sticky when thawed.
• Made from simple ingredients you are likely to have in the pantry. A perfect way to use up that lonely orange hanging out in the back of the fridge.
• Easy to double in volume which is perfect for batch prepping and freezing for when life gets busy.

🧂 Ingredients You Need

This recipe uses a handful of simple ingredients most people are likely to have in the fridge or pantry.

You will need:

• unsalted butter: you want this to be softened to room temperature as this will make it a lot easier to combine with the rest of the muffin batter ingredients;
• eggs: large eggs at room temperature;
• orange juice: seeing as we are also going to be using orange zest I suggest using a fresh orange rather than pre-bottled orange juice. But if your oranges are on the smaller side, or you can't be bothered juicing them, then pre-bottled orange juice will work;
• orange zest: depending on the size of the orange this will likely be the zest from a whole orange. Feel free to add more if you really like a good pop of citrus in your muffin. To zest an orange simply use the smallest hole on a box grater, being careful not to get too much of the white pith beneath the orange flesh, as this can be quite bitter;
• vanilla extract: or to take make these muffins even more luxurious you can use vanilla bean paste;
• baking soda: yes you need it, it helps the muffins to rise;
• baking powder: again, yes you need it, it helps the muffins to rise;
• sugar: I used granulated white sugar for this recipe, however, you could try using a sugar alternative like stevia if preferred;
• all-purpose flour (plain flour): I use white all-purpose flour for this recipe. You could use wholemeal flour if preferred, however, this may make the muffins less moist. If you only have self-rising flour then go ahead and use that and simply leave out the baking powder;
• dark chocolate chips: choose whatever type of chocolate chips you prefer, you could also replace the dark chocolate with milk chocolate or white chocolate if you wish;
• powdered sugar: this is for making the glaze which is completely optional. Use a fine powdered sugar or powdered sugar alternative made from stevia;

If you are making a couple of batches of these muffins to keep stored in the fridge you might want to throw in some extra or alternative add-ins to offer a bit of variety.

Try some with dark chocolate, some with milk or white chocolate, some with cranberries, and some with chopped walnuts alongside the chocolate.

📋 How To Make Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

These little muffins are super easy to make.

Simply add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Add all of the wet ingredients to a large bowl and beat with an electric or handheld whisk to until smooth and there are no lumps.

Add the wet to the dry, gently combine with a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips, and voila you have some muffin batter.

Too easy.

TIP: always be sure to preheat the oven. It should be nice and hot before you add the muffins, otherwise, you risk them not rising properly. No one likes a muffin that sinks in the middle, we want these little bites to be nice and fluffy.

Use a large spoon or cookie scoop to scoop even amounts of batter into the prepared muffin holes, pop into the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Try not to overfill the muffin holes. They should only be filled about ¾ of the way, as they will rise while baking, and we don't want them to rise over the edges and stick to the top of the pan and to each other.

The muffins should be golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean, with no wet batter on it.

TIP: Bake time can vary between ovens, so always test for doneness before removing the muffins from the oven and allowing them to cool.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you are adding the orange glaze to the top then prepare this whilst the muffins are cooling.

Simply whisk all of the glaze ingredients together until it is super smooth. I recommend using a sieve to add the powdered sugar to the mixing bowl to remove any lumps.

Once the muffins are completely cool, then dip them in the orange glaze and pop them back on the wire rack, giving the glaze about 5 minutes to set before serving.

♨️ How To Make These In The Air Fryer

To make chocolate orange muffins in the air fryer simply follow the instructions as stated in the recipe card below, but bake them in the preheated air fryer instead.

They should be air fried at 320F (160C) for about 15 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.

I always recommend using silicone muffin liners (affiliate link) and placing them directly on the rack inside the air fryer, which will mean you will have to do them in batches unless you have an air fryer large enough to hold an entire muffin pan.

💭 Important Teaching Tips

If you do not have muffin liners or nonstick cooking spray you can make your own using regular parchment paper.

Simply cut the parchment into squares and then press them into the muffin tin and fill them with the muffin batter.

Please note that some of the muffin batter will likely stick to the parchment paper. This isn't an issue though, and will simply give the look of a fancy cafe muffin.

MINI MUFFINS

If you would prefer to make mini muffins instead of regular-sized muffins then simply fill the cups in a mini muffin pan about ¾ of the way full and reduce the cooking time to about 9 minutes.

This will obviously make a lot more muffins, anywhere from 30-40, so be prepared to store and freeze them if they aren't likely to be eaten within about 3 days.

You will still need to use a mini muffin pan liner or spray the muffin holes with a non-stick cooking spray before adding the batter to prevent sticking.

STORING TIPS

Allow the chocolate orange muffins to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

If they are not completely cooled they will sweat when added to the container, which will cause them to become soggy.

Leftover muffins will keep stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3-4 days.

They can also be kept in the fridge but they will become more cake-like in texture and lose a lot of their moistness.

These muffins can also be frozen for about 3 months if they are stored correctly.

To store correctly, freeze the muffins in a single layer, and once par-frozen transfer them to a freezer-friendly container or a Ziplock bag and keep them stored in the freezer until needed.

I would recommend freezing them without the vanilla orange glaze, as this can become quite sticky on thawing.

When needed, simply pull the frozen muffins from the freezer and allow them to thaw for a couple of hours. I tend to pull them out in the morning and let them thaw in the lunchbox until lunchtime when they are perfect (unless it is very cold out obviously).

Substitutions

I love to add a variety of chocolate chips to these muffins.

They also work really well with some added raisins, dried cranberries, or goji berries.

🥢 Useful Products

I always recommend using silicone muffin liners (affiliate link) to prevent homemade muffins from sticking to the muffin pan.

They are also great for making separate compartments in a lunchbox for various small snacks like dried fruit and nuts.

If you do not have silicone liners then use a good quality non-stick cooking spray and make sure the cups in the muffin pan are sprayed very well to prevent sticking.

🍽  Serving Suggestions

Muffins are best served with a cup of tea for a special afternoon tea in my opinion.

If you want to pack them in your or your or your child's lunchbox then I would pair them with some fruit, some chopped veggies with Homemade Ranch Dip, and some Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs on Skewers with rice.

👪 Frequently Asked Questions

Print Recipe

Chocolate and Orange Muffins

These chocolate orange muffins will have you counting down the minutes until break time so you can dig in. Dark chocolate chips combined with a batter containing orange juice and orange zest, plus a vanilla orange glaze drizzled on top will leave you in citrus heaven. Easily batched, meal prepped, and frozen.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Active Time25 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate orange muffins, orange muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Calories: 311kcal

Materials

• 2.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup unsalted butter softened
• 2 egg
• ⅓ cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Orange Galze

• 1 cup powdered sugar sieved
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°c. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper muffin liners and set aside.
• Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda to a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined and set aside.
  2.5 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
• In a separate bowl beat the softened butter, eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth with no lumps. Pour the orange batter into the large mixing bowl with the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
  ½ cup unsalted butter, 2 egg, ⅓ cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
  1 cup dark chocolate chips
• Divide the muffin batter between the muffin tin. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze mix the powdered sugar, orange juice and vanilla in a small bowl until it is smooth with no lumps.
  1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Once the muffins have cooled, dip the tops into the orange glze, and transfer back to the wire rack. Allow the glaze to set for about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Tips

Use a cookie scoop to make evenly dividing the batter between the muffin tin holes easier and mess-free.

The muffins are cooked through if they spring back when lightly touched in the center.

A skewer or toothpick can also be inserted into the center of a muffin. If the skewer or toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are done.

Use a sieve to sieve the powdered sugar before adding it to the bowl. This removes lumps and makes it easier to combine with the rest of the ingredients.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can also be stored in the fridge if preferred.

These muffins freeze well also. Allow them to cool completely to room temperature before freezing in a single layer for up to 3 months.

They can be frozen with the orange glaze, however, the glaze may become sticky when thawed.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 23IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.