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
Hello Sally I am wondering if I can substitute all purpose flour for gluten free flour?
Hi Iayla, We haven’t tested these muffins with gluten free flour but let us know if you give it a try.
These tasted terrible, followed the recipe. Myself,mum and kids didn’t like them and threw them away.
This is the 2nd recipe of yours I’ve tried (other one was chocolate chip cookies) and they are both AMAZING! Made these muffins with freshly ground then sifted (to make whiter) einkhorn. They are SO good!!
Thank you so much for making our recipes, Michelle!
Enjoyed them but found them slightly tough on the top, will probably adjust the baking time next time and I could also taste the oil so will probably change to bananas. The flavour was decent but found it slightly bland otherwise quite tasty
Great recipe if you’re good at reading recipes and tweaking them to your likeness.
I added extra butter, only a splash of oil, half brown sugar, half white, extra vanilla, and a splash of almond extract. They turned out just about perfect.
The only thing I would do different is adding a little more acid to counteract all that baking powder. Just a faint baking powder flavor came through. Luckily, it didn’t ruin them.
I’d also add either a little more sugar or a little less flour. Maybe half a cup.
But this the creamiest, most luscious batter I’ve ever made. That could be the kerry gold butter, though. I creamed it instead of melting it.
I also sprinkled brown sugar on top. Next time, I’ll do that and salt.
I was able to make 6 oversized muffins plus enough to test the batter in 2 small silicone molds. I was afraid to fill the muffin pan all the way up like the recipe instructed, but they poofed up real nicely, not too much, and were slightly jiggly.
I didn’t do the temperature change on the small test muffins and baked them for about 17 minutes and they turned out perfect and only slightly more crispy than the large muffins, which I did do the temperature change for and baked for 25 minutes.
Definitely bakery quality on that crust.
These muffins tasted like pancakes but I still love you sally.
Muffins were delicious! I appreciated your baking tip for overmixing. I was careful not to overmix and the texture was great! (maybe that was my problem in the past!). And the oven temperature change worked – the muffin tops were nice and puffed! I find it helpful to learn the ‘why’ – thank you.
I found these rather bland, not very flavorful.
very moist muffins and very delicious. we took them out 10 mins earlier and they were great. 10/10
This was incredible!!!! I did use only 1/4 cup regular sugar and 1/2 cup coconut sugar in the batter- and they came out amazing. I also made some with some fresh blueberries and lemon zest which were also a hit! Will definitely be making these again.
These came out great! would I be able to add Pistachio pudding mix to this recipe?
Hi Barbara, we haven’t tried adding pistachio pudding to the dry ingredients here. It would likely take some tinkering—you may want to start by removing some of the flour. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
“What do you recommend if I bake them in regular-sized muffin liners? What’s the temperature and how long? Thank you for sharing the delicious muffin recipe.”
Hi Maureen, the instructions are in the Notes section beneath the recipe. 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.
Best chocolate chip muffin recipe I’ve ever made!
Can I substitute milk for buttermilk for extra moist muffins? Have you tried it?
Hi Tina, you can replace the milk AND yogurt with buttermilk for 1 and 1/3 cups of buttermilk. Enjoy!
I loved this recipe and the beautiful, professional touches — like the puffed out tops, the crystalline sugar on top that makes the whole muffin sparkle, etc. Whenever I want to make a dessert, Sally’s recipe site is the first place I visit. I know the recipe has been tested, vetted, and will work. I’ve made the Strawberry cake too and was just bowled over by how flavorful it was — and with all natural ingredients.
Recipe was good and tasty. Unfortunately I didn’t get the golden brown ontop and the next day it was a little dense. Is this how it is supposed to be?
Hi Jj, were the muffins slightly underbaked by chance? An extra minute or two in the oven should help with browning the tops. Be sure not to overmix the batter, which can make the muffins overly dense. We’re glad you enjoyed them!
I will be making regular sized muffins….would you say 1/4 cup of batter in each hole?
Hi Jj, see recipe Notes for details on making standard sized muffins. Fill the muffin cups to the top.
Are these a dense muffin? I want a softer one so before I make it I wanted to make sure
Can i use all oil instead of butter?
Hi Jj, you could, but you’ll miss the buttery flavor.
These turned out great!!
Can the muffin batter be prepared in advance (stored overnight in fridge) then baked the next day?
Hi MJ, we don’t recommend that, because once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, the leaveners are activated. It’s best to bake right away.
They were perfect!
I used sweetened vanilla almond milk (milk allergies over here) and I baked at 350 for 20 minutes and they were BEAUTIFUL. Can’t wait for my kids to have them in the morning! Thank you!
I actually skipped the eggs and used just the yogurt and real milk, gf flour mix and it turned out rly good. I didn’t have enough chocolate so used hemp seeds too. Used hemp oil as oil plus the butter.
Great recipe! I’m so happy that they turned out perfectly. Thank you
I’ve been making these for awhile now, but today I only had coconut oil and coconut sugar on hand. And let me tell you, these substitutions made them so moist and flaky! I was nervous they would come out dense, but nope! Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes with us!
Another on point 5 star recipe!
DELICIOUS MUFFINS! I had an industrial size pan and was able to make 8 bakery sized muffins with this recipe. PERFECT FOR A SNOW DAY!
With 3 cups of flour you just made 6 muffins? Didn’t get
This recipe makes 6 jumbo muffins, or 15 standard size.
Texturally, perfect. Flavor was not great. I think just switching to all butter, no oil, changing to equal parts brown sugar and reg sugar, and maybe doubling the vanilla, would make all the difference. Next time! For whatever the reason, despite how little taste it has, I can always detect veg/canola oil in baked goods, but I recognize that’s mostly unique to me.
I always tasted it too, and now instead of oil I use apple sauce! It does the same thing in terms of baking but does not taste like oil.
Made 6 jumbo muffins…Turned out perfectly. Could you make muffin tops with this batter?
Delicious, perfect muffins!