This chocolate chip muffin recipe has remained a reader favorite since I first published it many years ago. These bakery-style chocolate chip muffins are BIG in size, flavor, and texture. They’re deliciously soft and moist with a crackly muffin top. Cinnamon spiced and loaded with chocolate chips, you’ll never turn to another muffin recipe again.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
Today’s homemade chocolate chip muffins rival any from a bakery. They’re large and in charge, bursting with flavor, and are topped with a sweet sparkly sugar crunch. Like an acceptable version of chocolate chip cookies for breakfast! It’s a variation from my master bakery-style muffin recipe.
One reader, Jennifer, commented: “This is the recipe I’ve been looking for! The muffins are light and moist, not too dense or heavy. I think this is the best muffin recipe on Sally’s site! I’ve made both jumbo and regular size muffins… Thank you for this wonderful recipe! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Sabrina, commented: “Me and my family loved this recipe, best muffins I’ve ever made. I wasn’t too sure about the cinnamon at first and was going to skip it, but I did end up adding half of it in the end and they came out perfect. Really loved the kick it gave. ★★★★★”
Video Tutorial
Ingredients in Chocolate Chip Muffins
Besides flavor and texture, you’ll appreciate the simple ingredient list. You only need a few basic ingredients to make absolutely awesome chocolate chip muffins. Each ingredient is important and transforms boring muffins into bakery-style chocolate chip muffins!
- Flour: Flour is the foundation of these chocolate chip muffins muffins; we need a thick batter to hold all of the chocolate chips.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: A lot of leavener is required to create a significant rise against all of the wet ingredients.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: Cinnamon is a muffin’s favorite spice. You only need a small pinch of nutmeg, too. I promise you that nutmeg is what most chocolate chip muffin recipes are missing. You’ll never go back!
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: Both are used for flavor.
- Eggs: Eggs add moisture and bind everything together.
- Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt: Just like I do with chocolate covered strawberry muffins, I began adding a touch of sour cream to this batter. It helps keep the muffins extra moist and I highly recommend it!
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar to sweeten these muffins.
- Oil: Oil produces a moist, tender muffin. These days I combine a little melted butter and oil. See my recipe note.
- Milk: Milk adds plenty of moisture and lightens up the crumb.
- Chocolate Chips: These wouldn’t be chocolate chip muffins without chocolate chips! I always keep a large stash on hand for these muffins and chocolate chip cookies.
- Coarse Sprinkling Sugar: My secret ingredient used for sparkle and crunch on top. I like Sugar in the Raw or you can use white sparkling sugar sprinkles, usually found with the sprinkles in the baking aisle.
How to Make Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
This chocolate chip muffin recipe couldn’t be easier. The batter comes together in minutes, so it’s a wonderful recipe for busy mornings.
Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately by hand, then combine them. The batter will be thick, which is ideal for holding muffin add-ins like fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips. Muffin batter is much thicker than cupcake batter because muffins are more dense. The thicker the batter, the less likely the add-ins will sink to the bottom.
- Tip: Make sure the eggs, sour cream, and milk are at room temperature, which incorporates them quicker and easier with other ingredients. I recommend taking these ingredients out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before starting.
Divide the batter in your muffin pan and fill each all the way to the top. You can make this recipe as 6 large muffins (shown), 14-15 standard size muffins, or 40 mini muffins. Top with a sprinkle of coarse sugar for a truly authentic bakery-style muffin!
Don’t Over-mix.
When combining the wet and dry ingredients, don’t over mix. This is very important to ensure soft and fluffy chocolate chip muffins. You’ll be tempted to keep on mixing because this batter is so thick, but it only takes about 20 strokes to mix it all together. You might notice a few lumps in the batter, but that’s normal. Remember, don’t overmix!
The Secret Trick for Tall Muffin Tops
Fill your muffin tins all the way to the top. If using a giant muffin tin, your batter will fill 6 large tins to the brim, as shown above. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F, then for about 25 minutes at 350°F. This initial high oven temperature lifts the muffin top up quickly and creates a tall crust, which is why filling the muffin tins to the top is imperative.
Most muffins bake between 350°–375°F for the entire time. Setting the oven to 425°F initially and then lowering the temperature after 5 minutes guarantees muffins with tall, sugar-crusted, crackly tops. I do this in all my muffin recipes.
See my Master Bakery-Style Muffin Recipe for more flavor options and ideas.
More Favorite Muffin Recipes
- Blueberry Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Banana Muffins
Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 jumbo muffins or 15 standard muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Big, bakery style muffins stuffed with chocolate chips and topped with a sprinkle of sugar. This recipe is written to yield 6 jumbo muffins. For standard size or mini muffins, see notes at the bottom of the recipe. Baking times differ.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1/3 cup (5 Tablespoons; 71g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/3 cup (80ml) oil (vegetable oil, melted coconut oil or avocado oil)*
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream or yogurt, at room temperature*
- 1 cup (240ml) milk, at room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (270g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Generously grease a jumbo 6-count muffin pan with butter or nonstick spray (nonstick spray recommended) or line with muffin liners. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the melted butter, oil, sugar, and eggs together until combined. Then whisk in the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Mixture will be pale yellow. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold together with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until completely combined. Use a whisk to rid any large lumps of flour, if needed. Avoid overmixing. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter between each muffin cup, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with coarse sugar (for added crunch, recommended!). Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 25-26 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown and centers are set. Stick a toothpick in the center of a muffin to test for doneness. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before serving.
- Cover leftover muffins and store at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. Muffins freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 6-count Jumbo Muffin Pan | Jumbo Muffin Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | White Sparkling Sugar
- Oil: Vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil work best in this recipe.
- Sour Cream/Yogurt: I recommend full fat sour cream or full fat or low fat plain yogurt. I don’t recommend fat-free for either.
- Milk: I like to use buttermilk or whole milk in this recipe because either add wonderful moisture and flavor. You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy, but the lower fat milk you use, the less flavorful and moist your muffins will taste.
- Chocolate Chips: I love using a mix of regular size and mini size chocolate chips for varying chocolate texture. You can also use chocolate chunks or milk chocolate chips.
- Standard Size Muffins or Mini Muffins: For standard size muffins baked in a 12-count muffin pan, reduce baking time to about 20 total minutes: 5 initial minutes at 425°F and 15 minutes at 350°F. Yields 14-15 standard size muffins. For about 40 mini muffins, bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F the entire time.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read for more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
Reader Comments and Reviews
What if I am baking 24 regular sized muffins?
Oh also I used skim milk, that’s what I had in the house. And yogurt not sour cream. Maybe that’s the reason for the difference in appearance from your pictures? Anyway, like I said, still great recipe!
This recipe is great! Though mine did not have that beautiful looking crack on top that I was hoping for. They look more like a cupcake, they were delicious. I did set the oven for 425° for the first five minutes and then I turned it down to 350 for 15 minutes. I used a 12 count muffin pan not the jumbo but it did make 24 muffins for me, not 12?!
I suppose it could be because I only filled them 3/4 of the way not to the top, that I got more muffins and they didn’t crack on top?
But I was looking for a recipe to make in bulk for our church cafe for Sunday morning fellowship. And I didn’t need them to be huge! Like I said though, delicious!!
Hi Joanne, using less in each muffin cavity will yield more, so that’s likely the reason. We’re so glad they were a hit!
Thank you for your response Lexi, I appreciate it! I figured I would get more muffins by filling them 3/4 full but double yield? I did not expect! Better for me and the church!
But still wondering why they don’t look like your photos? Color and texture? Mine look golden and not cracked on top?
Thanks again! Delicious recipe!
My muffin tops were flat and I’m not sure why. Any suggestions on what may have gone wrong?
Hi MaryAnn, did you try the tall-muffin trick of baking for the first 5 mins at 425F?
Yes, I did.
I did
Were your baking powder and baking soda fresh? We find they start to lose their effectiveness after about 3 months, even if not technically expired. Or was your batter overmixed by chance? When the batter is overmixed, muffins can bake up squat and dense without much rise. Also, be sure to bake the batter right away, don’t let it sit once the wet and dry ingredients have been combined. Hope this helps for next time!
It was pretty good!
I made this recipe for a school trip. The kids absolutely loved (and devoured) them!!! And so did I!!! They are definitely a big hit.
These are so amazing!! I wanted to try them again, and I was wondering if I could substitute the yoghurt/sour cream for buttermilk instead?
Hi Amy, you can replace the milk AND yogurt with buttermilk for 1 and 1/3 cups of buttermilk. Enjoy!
This recipe is great!! Everyone loved it I did not have a “jumbo” muffin pan. So I used a 6 reg muffin pan and a 24 mini muffin pan like another reader suggested. They were right! Used all the batter perfectly. Adjusted times by checking often with toothpick for doneness … did not put mini muffins at 450° though.
They come out nice and high when filling right up! Used baking spray no liners. A little sprinkle of demerara sugar on top was the kiss
Great recipe. Didn’t change a thing. I didn’t have Jumble muffin tin but I had a six large muffin tin and a twenty four mini muffin tin And it used it all out perfect amount@!!
This is our favourite muffin recipe and an all time favorite in our household.
Thank you for posting this!
Optional addition some lemon zest! Makes them even more magical.
My daughters’ all-time favorite! The nutmeg is NOT optional in my opinion. It elevates the flavor to a whole different level { chef’s kiss }
Oil needs to be doubled and add 1 cup brown sugar, then these are competition for modern bakeries. Otherwise they’re dry and lack any of the guilty appeal a chocolate chip muffin should offer. As is, this is just a repurposed blueberry muffin recipe, which should be drier and less sweet so as to contrast the berries. The rest of the recipe is spot on. 425F at 5min really makes them pop.
Hey Bob did you add 1 cup of brown sugar ontop of the 1 cup of granulated sugar that’s already in the recipe? I want to try these with what your saying as mine came out a little dry.
My friends and I loved thus recipe it was so good
Absolutely perfect! Definitely will make again
I’m a baker in a small shop and I’m always looking for interesting new recipes. I’ve never used butter and oil in a recipe before, usually either/or. Nor have I started tge bake temperature so high.
These came out great at home. (Hello sweet tooth). Perfect with a cup of coffee! Thank you for the new tricks..
These are amazing! Thank you so much! My family Loved them!
If I wanted to add dried cranberries to this recipe would I need to make any adjustments ?
Hi Debbie, these muffins are a variation from my master bakery-style muffin recipe. You can use any combination of berry, fruit, nut, chocolate chips, etc. keeping the total amount of add-ins between 1-2 cups. Enjoy!
Loved this recipe. i used a six cup pan and it took longer to bake.
This recipe turned out perfectly! I followed the directions exactly except my milk, eggs and yogurt were not room temp so I put the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds, I put the eggs in a bowl of warm water and just used cold yogurt. They still turned out delicious and perfect. Crispy tops even without the course sugar. Will definitely make again!
This recipe is incredible! My friends always love when I make them. The muffins are so good!
Hello ! i absolutely love the consistency of this recipe, i thought can i use it as a base for any other kind of muffin? banana? blueberry? perhaps some kind of cinnamon muffin?
Hi Sofia, for a similar base muffin recipe, here is our bakery-style master muffin recipe, including several flavor recommendations. Enjoy!
These were so delicious! My family and I devoured these muffins. I made these in a standard muffin pan and I accidentally burnt them a little but they tasted super moist and yummy! Anyways I wanted to know if these are supposed to taste like cinnamon? Everyone guessed that the secret ingredient in these muffins were cinnamon. Maybe I put too much? Wdya think. Anyways thanks again for a stellar recipe!!
Hi Theresa, these are cinnamon-spiced muffins, but you can certainly reduce it a bit if you make these again. We’re glad they were a hit!
Great recipe that I modified for a gluten-free friend and my dairy-free daughter. Came out great! For GF substitution, I used 1 1/2 cup King Arthur’s GF flour and 1 1/2 cup Almond flour, 5 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda. For dairy free I used unsweetend vanilla almond milk, Miyoko’s plant milk butter, Forager cashew milk sour cream, and chopped a Lindor Oat Milk chocolate bar. I would recommend doing a standard-size muffin as cooking times and leavening with GF flours can be tricky. I am brand LOYAL, as over the years, I have found that the brands I listed produce the best results and taste. Thank you for sharing your passion for baking. I love using and modifying your recipes for tricky tummies!
Question – for the choclate chip muffins, do I double the ingredients for 12 jumbo muffins?
Hi Moe, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling. This is a pretty thick batter, and doubling could make it easy to over or under mix.
Delicious! House favorite!
Every recipe I make of Sally’s works amazingly and these are no exception!
I love the sprinkling of sugar on the top and the tip to start off at a high temperature and then reduce – they rise so high!
For anyone who’s interested, I made these with full-fat Greek yoghurt and I calculated 240 calories per muffin. I’m sure it’s not exact but just to give an idea.
My husband says these are actually best from the freezer. We make a batch, freeze them all and he takes one out the night before. Apparently it makes them more moist… As he only eats one a day, it’s our best way of keeping the batch their best. I also cooked mine for about 5 minutes less, which was right for my oven.
Thank you so much for such a yummy recipe!!!
Hi, I am looking forward to making these chocolate chip muffins. I see in the notes full fat sour cream is recommended. I only have light on hand. Will it really make a big difference? I’d love to bake them today, but should I wait until I have full fat or will they be good Either way?
Hi Eileen, full fat is recommended for soft, tender muffins, but the light will work in a pinch.
I would prefer to make these as a standard size muffin. Tips and cooking times?
Hi Christina, see recipe Notes. For standard size muffins baked in a 12-count muffin pan, reduce baking time to about 20 total minutes: 5 initial minutes at 425°F and 15 minutes at 350°F. Yields 14-15 standard size muffins. For about 40 mini muffins, bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F the entire time.
I’ve made these a few times and they’re awesome! This last time I swapped out a portion of the flour for cocoa powder to make double chocolate muffins, they turned out amazing!!!
Has anyone Figured out how many carbs are in one muffin
Hi Adrienne, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076