Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins (video)
A crispy, sky-high muffin top, full of chocolate chips, soft and buttery on the inside – a perfect way to start your morning!
I love enjoying a good muffin with a nice, warm cup of coffee, especially now that the fall weather is setting in. My favorite part of a muffin is the muffin top, that’s why I love bakery style muffins. Breaking off that large, crispy muffin top and taking that first bite is heaven to me. When I was a kid, I would only eat the tops of my muffins and it used to drive my mother crazy because she though it was so wasteful. But, the bottom just couldn’t compare to the top. This reminds me of that Seinfeld episode back in the 90’s where Elaine had the idea of a store just selling muffin tops. I know I totally dated myself with the last reference, but I hope some of you know what I’m talking about or else I’m just going to feel old and geeky.
Anyway, let’s talk baking science. The key to the perfect bakery style muffin is to have just enough leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) to create that puffy dome when baking, but not so much that you can taste it. Baking at an initial high temperature will cause the air bubbles in the batter to expand even further. This will help give the muffin a soft and fluffy texture and also create the high rise. Using enough fats and liquids like butter, eggs, and milk, will make the muffins moist and rich. You also need enough volume of batter to fill the tins to the top. Lastly, and this is a tip in general for making soft and tender muffins, mix the wet with the dry ingredients until JUST combined. Over mixing will result in hockey pucks and you don’t want that. Everything else is a matter of preference in taste.
I used mini chocolate chips for this recipe because they disperse more evenly throughout, but you can use regular chocolate chips or chocolate chunks if you prefer. I also added some salt to enhance all the flavors. I used to shy away from salt, but I learned from watching Master Chef that it’s useful for more than just adding a savory taste, it also potentiates all the other flavors. I added 1 tablespoon of vanilla because I like vanilla in all my baked goods. It’s just one of those flavors that goes well with most things, and of course you need some sugar. I only used 1 cup of sugar for this recipe because the chocolate chips are already sweet. So, in a nutshell, that’s pretty much how I came up with the recipe.
Enjoy these fabulous muffins with your morning coffee and/or as an afternoon snack. They’re moist, fluffy, rich in flavor, loaded with sweet chocolate chips, and they’re so delicious, I promise you’ll want to devour the whole thing, not just the tops.
Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: breakfast, snack
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
The BEST chocolate chip muffin recipe – soft, moist, fluffy, loaded with chocolate chips, and a perfect crispy sky-high muffin top!
Ingredients
- 2 & ½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp (13g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (2.5g) salt
- ½ cup (114g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (250ml) buttermilk (see notes for substitutions*)
- 1 tbsp (15ml) vanilla extract
- 1 & ½ cups (275g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tray with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Slowly add to the dry ingredients. Gently fold together until JUST combined.
- Divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups and bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake for another 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake or the muffins will be dry. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy warm.
Notes
*You can substitute the buttermilk with any kind of milk. Even non-dairy milk like almond or rice milk works. Simply mix it with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to make 1 cup.
Muffins taste best the day of, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
For mini muffins; bake for 10-12 minutes at 375F only.
Keywords: chocolate chip muffin recipe, easy chocolate chip muffins, best chocolate chip muffins
You might also like my Bakery Style Blueberry Streusel Muffins, Bakery Style Banana Nut Muffins, and Double Chocolate Muffins. Click here to see all muffin recipes.
These were very good. Family loved them and I have picky eaters. Definitely a keeper.
★★★★★
I would love to make these with my cooking club students. Does the yield of 12 refer to standard size muffin cups or the large muffin cups. I have 24 standard sized muffin cups and want to make sure I have enough ingredients. Thank you in advance
Hi Michelle,
It yields 12 large muffins and about 16 standard size muffins. So depending on how many students you have, you’ll probably need to double the recipe. Let me know if you have any other questions. Enjoy!
Really good recipe, they taste amazing. Did not have buttermilk so I substituted it for 1tsp vinegar with a cup ish of milk.
★★★★★
Hi! I was wondering if I could make chocolate chip bread using a bread pan {bottom of pan is 8 by 3.5 and the depth is 3.5} instead of muffins. If so, are there any changes to recipe at all? Thank you so much for your help!
This recipe is enough to make 2 loaves or half the recipe to make one loaf. Bake at 350F for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
Would it be the same measurements if I’m substituting all purpose flour for almond flour?
Hi Gabriela, you can’t substitute all of the AP flour for almond flour. You are better off using a blend like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF baking flour if you are looking for something gluten-free. If you just want to add some almond flour, I would suggest no more than 1/2 cup (so 2 cups AP flour and 1/2 cup almond flour). Hope this helps!
These turned out great. Can I freeze them?
★★★★★
Thank you and yes, you can!
Absolutely DELICIOUSSSSSSSSS! I sifted the flour, used 1/2 cup each brown and white sugar. I did 425 degrees for 5 min and then 375 for 8-10 minutes instead of 12-15. My muffin pan was small. I used 1/4 cup of mix per muffin. Thank you for a great recipe.
★★★★★
You’re very welcome and thank you for your kind feedback, Rena!
These are our favorite muffins. I did not have buttermilk so I used sour cream and 2% milk and they turned out great. I feel like the base is so versatile that you could make any type of muffin from this. I am going to try using the base mixture and adding orange zest, orange juice, cranberries and walnuts. My husband has been asking for these.
★★★★★
Easy to follow
I made the buttermilk with 2% as shown in the recipe and they turned out great and not dense like some muffin recipes
Way better than the ones from a package
Will make again!
★★★★★
My husband can NOT stop eating these. I’ve gotten some major marriage brownie points for these bad boys. They’re extremely light and delicious. I add a streusel topping to add a little something extra. 12/10 best muffins ever.
★★★★★
I have made this recipe several times and it is wonderful! Vefy, very easy to make and I love sharing them with friends and family. They are always a big hit!
★★★★★
I have frozen blueberries, should I thaw before adding to recipe?
Nope, do not thaw, just bake for a few extra minutes.
Has anyone tried these using half brown sugar and half white? If so, results?
I haven’t for myself but I don’t see why not.
do i have to line the muffin tins?
★★★★★
No, you don’t have to line the muffin tin with paper liners. You can just grease it instead.