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.
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.
I followed the recipe but used soy milk as a buttermilk substitute with white vinegar. I was a bit unsure about the amount of chocolate chips and vanilla but they rose perfectly! There was enough batter for 16 muffins – my only complaint is that they are a bit dry and could use a little more milk. I think this is my new go-to recipe!
Thank you for your feedback, Diya. How long did you bake them for? Since you made 16 instead of 12 larger muffins, the bake time would be less, so I’m wondering if that is perhaps why they are a little dry.
These look and taste amazing! They are definitely like bakery muffins! I can’t wait to try more of her recipes!
Hiya! Can’t wait to try these, but I don’t have buttermilk. I have heavy cream and sour cream – any recommendations?
Thank so much!
Yes, you can use 3/4 cup of sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup water. Enjoy the muffins, Rose!
These muffins are amazing! They baked up with a beautiful muffin top, were super soft and tasted amazing. This will be a repeat recipe. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Sheryl! And thank you for your kind words:)
Amazing muffins like you find at the warehouse clubs. Large moist and delicious. I added 3 tbsp Vanilla by accident and Loved them!
Amazing! I am not much of a baker, but I followed this recipe using milk with lemon juice and they are amazingly delicious!! Thank you
You’re very welcome and thank you for your rave review, Kelley! Much appreciated:)
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I used the substitute for the buttermilk and still, they came out fresh and soft! It tastes as if I bought it straight from a bakery and I love it. I will soon try out many more of these recipes because they are just divine. Thank you so much #littlesweetbaker.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Raeesa! Much appreciated and I’m so happy you think the muffins are amazing!
I’ve made these a few times and YUM every time. This last time I had run out of butter so I used coconut oil which is close in melting properties and I used powdered buttermilk that I added water to and let sit for a few minutes before continuing. Still delicious. slight coconut flavor but that’s ok for me. Sometimes you just need a cc muffin.
These are amazing!! They worked great following the recipe exactly which can be incredible in itself. They will become a regular household recipe for my kids lunchboxes thank you.
You’re very welcome, Lyndal! So happy to hear it’s going to be a regular lunchbox treat!
I just made these, I subbed the 1 cup buttermilk with 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt for that buttermilk tang. They turned out perfect! My kids love these muffins.
Good one.
It is rare that I comment on blogs but I just had to compliment you on this recipe. These muffins are amazing! Delicious and so easy to make! I am trying to find recipes to make snacks for my kids that replace store bought items where I feel I am paying more for packaging than food (i.e. Little Bites). This is definitely it! I made full size muffins because I don’t have a pan for mini muffins but fully intend to purchase a tray for smaller muffins this week. I also plan to take your recommendation to use mini chocolate chips. I only had regular on hand and think they were a bit too much. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Aww, thank you for your kind words, Catherine! And I hope you like my other recipes just as much:)
I noticed someone used mini chips but you used regular. Any recommendations on which is best
Mini chocolate chips are better. Enjoy!
So yummy!! Easy to follow and pretty quick to make. Turned out perfect! I had extra batter, but better more than not enough (:
My favorite recipe! It is perfect every time.
Delicious!!! Just the right type of sweetness and fluffiness. My family and I loved it. Totally recommend this!
Excellent taste! Perfect size! Definitely bakery style!
Have tried 2 recipes and amazing! The recipe is exactly true! I am so happy finally I can make muffin the way it should be 🙂 no more no less just follow the recipe. Thank you so much, Lily! Will try your another recipe 🙂
You’re very welcome, Lenny! Thank you for such kind words:) Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend! xoxo
These are soooo good! Best muffin recipe I’ve made. I appreciate mixing the chocolate chips with the flour so they don’t all sink to the bottom of the pans. Such a great recipe!
I would love to make these chocolate chip muffins! What size muffin pan did you use? Are these jumbo or regular size muffins?
Want to make sure on baking time for the size.
Thank you!
I used a regular size muffin pan. I hope you enjoy the muffins!
Awesome Muffins !! 😊❤️