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
great recipe, and best and biggest muffins I have ever made. I’am sitting here contemplating making a batch for my family.
Ugh, I made these for my grandkids bc of the great reviews people gave. The muffins weresort of like a bad, dense biscuit; tasteless with horrible texture (I wanted to spit it out) not at all like any muffin I’ve had. My 7 and 9yo grandsons thought they were horrible. What a bummer, a waste of time and ingredients. Good thing I like most everything ‘you’ have on this site….so I’ll keep coming back.
Hi, thank you so much for giving the recipe a try and for your honest feedback; I really appreciate it. I’m so sorry the muffins turned out dense and lacking flavor. That’s definitely not how they’re supposed to be, and I know how disappointing it is to spend time and ingredients on something that flops (especially when baking for grandkids!). Sometimes overmixing the batter or using too much flour (it’s easy to accidentally pack it in) can lead to dense, dry muffins. Also, double-checking baking powder and soda freshness and measuring ingredients accurately can make a big difference. And thank you for your kind words about the other recipes—it truly means a lot that you trust and enjoy others published on the site.
My problem was the amount of baking powder. 3 teaspoons is a lot on top of the baking soda. The taste is really good but mine baked weird and are chewy. That’s easily from the mountain of baking powder. It just seems like something is wrong with them. Again, though, the flavor is really good, but the texture is questionable.
Seriously the BEST muffins I have ever tasted. I will never make any other recipe. And honestly, I think they’re better than any bakery bought muffin I’ve ever tasted!!
THESE ARE SO GOOD. Best chocolate chip muffin recipe out there. My mom and I had them for brunch
I made these today as my wife is a chocalateolic lol. They turned out wonderful. Will be making these often.
Big fan of your recipes. Looking for a bakery style chocolate chip muffin recipe that is dairy free. My granddaughter has dairy allergies and is not a fan of dairy free yogurts. Do you have a suggestion for a dairy free substitute for this recipe. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Hi R. Purdy, we don’t have much experience with dairy free baking, but would normally suggest trying dairy free butter, dairy free yogurt and dairy free milk. Let us know if you try anything! Otherwise, it may be best to search for a dairy free chocolate chip muffin recipe instead, since adapting recipes can be tricky.
Could you use 35%cream in these? Would there be any adjustments to the other ingredients? I have made these before and they were a hit.
Hi Pamela, heavy cream will be a bit too heavy for this muffin batter. You could use another type of milk instead.
Every recipe I try of Sally’s is even better than the last.
I made these muffins for my mum and grandmother this mother’s Day and everyone loved them! (I recommend making more than you planned because despite how filling they are they go quick lol)
They did come out of the oven a little darker than I was expecting but it’s still looked and tasted 10/10
Will 100% be making again (and getting that cookbook because wow)
Thank you so much for trusting our recipes, Casey!
This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip muffins! I do not have a jumbo muffin pan so I use my standard muffin pan. I follow the baking directions in the notes! They come out perfect every time. They’re tall and moist. I usually use vanilla yogurt and I leave out the cinnamon. I’ve try a few times with the cinnamon, but I prefer it without! I do always add an extra tsp of vanilla. I do have to use course sugar for the top next time just for that extra deliciousness!! Sally your recipes are always my go to’s!!
these muffins were do delicious!!! I would 100% make these again! I made 6 jumbo muffins and ate 4 in one sitting!!! I would definitely recommend and this is a recipe I would be sure to use again!!!
Had some issues with this one, but it did yield good results.
Firstly, I’d like to say that I enjoy most of Sally’s recipes. But I wish this one showed the standard size in the baking directive, instead of just in the notes.
anyway
I made standard muffins with this recipe. I baked them at 425 as directed and lowered the temp to 325. But the directive said to bake them for 15 minutes, I ended up only needing 10. They were “slightly” over, and they appeared much more golden than the images led on.
I baked them last night, and after they have fully cooled over night, they look so pretty the next day. I hope they are very soft. But I followed the instructions to a T and they don’t look like the images, which bums me out a bit. Otherwise, thanks Sally for another great one.
These turned out amazing! I opted to make the 12 standard muffins instead of the 6 jumbo, and I’m so used to muffin recipes saying “Makes 12” but they actually only make ten and sometimes that’s pushing it. I only lined ten cups in the pan when I started, so imagine my surprise when I had to walk back to the pantry and grab two extra liners. The recipe makes 12 super good, puffy but light and fluffy muffins! My oven is incredibly finicky, and is rarely the temperature it says it is on the dial (usually it’s hotter), so I was a little hesitant to try the recipe as written for fear of overcooking these beauties. Instead of turning the oven down after 5 minutes of baking, I preheated it to 425 and then turned it down immediately upon inserting the muffins. This worked wonderfully, and the muffins turned out perfect! Will be saving this recipe for future use, thanks!!
Can you make this as muffin tops? What would be the temperature and baking time?
Hi Ellen, we haven’t used this particular recipe in a muffin top pan, but we can’t see why not. You’ll likely want to do 350 degrees the entire time, but we’re unsure of the bake time. Let us know if you try it!
I was REALLY craving a chocolate chip muffin and I found this recipe! They’re SO GOOD! I will definitely be making them again!
This was a hit at our home. Baked it with my little kids and they enjoyed being a part especially how it turnt out. I found it was mildly dry and wanted to know if I wanted it a bit more moist what could I have changed?
So glad you enjoyed these muffins, Hanan! How did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure it’s not over measured. Too much flour can significantly dry out the muffins.
I don’t have a large 6-cup muffin tin so used my 12-cup pan — lots of batter left over so I used a second muffin tin and filled an extra 6. I also used buttermilk (as Sally prefers to use) and I used 1 cup of regular chocolate chips + 1/2 cup mini! I sprinkled tops with turbinado sugar for the crunch, baked for the 5 minutes at 425 — what an excellent texture! The muffins were awesome and enjoyed with a nice hot cup of tea!
Hi. What changes would need to be made to sub 100% of the flour with oat flour? Thanks.
I made these tonight and they were perfect but I’m not at all surprised. I’ve tried recipes from all over and I always end up adding yours to my favorites list. I now just go directly to your website when I want to try something new.
i’d made these muffins a few years back and was delighted with them *made a comment in 2022 as the whole family scarfed them down so quickly – including me lol*. since then we had to buy a new oven. i made them yesterday, changing nothing. they unfortunately turned out very dry to the point of me throwing the rest out after we all tried one. but that’s on me, as former professional baker, that i should have checked them as i’m still figuring out the oven and it’s quirks. sometimes it runs hot and not as much other times! i think the people who have complained about the recipe being too dry might need to watch their muffins carefully and perhaps test them earlier, as next time i will do the same.
It’s a shame I can’t leave a comment with the photo – they turned out just perfect, tall, with cracked top. I made half of the muffins with chocolate chips, half with white chocolate chips and blueberries.
The banana nut muffin is delicious!! Super moist! I added toasted walnuts and mini choc chips. Yummy!
I did everything as suggested, and only baked just until toothpick inserted barely came clean. But even stored with a covered container, the next day they seem dry. Not sure why??
Hi Kortny, we’re so sorry you had troubles with this recipe. How did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure it’s not over measured. Too much flour can significantly dry out the muffins.
I made these for church, substituting cup for cup gluten free flour (I had to add a little extra milk) and adding peanut butter chips along with the chocolate chips. These muffins were so good!! I had also made a banana muffin with chocolate chips (not GF), these were gone and enjoyed much faster!!
Very delicious, I broiled the tops for 30 seconds after they finished baking as I like a hard crust and made it that much better!
These came out delicious. Do you have the nutritional info for them?
Hi Rachel 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
Hi there!
I’d like to try this recipe out but I have some bananas I’d like to use as well. Can I sub the yogurt/sour cream for over ripe bananas? If so, how many would you suggest? Thank you in advance!
Hi Andrea, We recommend following the banana nut muffin recipe in our Master Bakery-Style Muffin recipe, which is adapted from this basic muffin batter. You can add about 1 cup of chocolate chips to that batter.
The banana nut muffin is delicious!! Super moist! I added toasted walnuts and mini choc chips. Yummy!
I made the muffins and love the way they turned out but they seemed to stale quickly. Was it something I did wrong? I stored them in a glass dome cake holder.
Hi Kathryn, we find the muffins last best when covered and stored at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Holy smokes, these muffins are incredible.
Followed the recipe step by step, very easy and straightforward. I thought there was no way that much batter would fit in 6 jumbo cups, but they just barely did. Your time estimate was right on.
10 minutes after removal from the oven, my wife and I split one…and then another one chased down by a quart of milk.
Best muffin I’ve ever had. Now I need to figure out how to make a cinnamon muffin and a pumpkin muffin. Thank you for this great recipe.
Hi Tom, we’re so glad you enjoyed these muffins! You may also enjoy our apple cinnamon muffins or our pumpkin muffins!
I just made a half batch of these and they are the best muffins I’ve ever made! I was out of chips so I just chopped up a bar of baking chocolate. Came out perfect.
Just made these for my sister’s birthday and they were a hit! I made them regular sized and just cooked them for a bit less than recommended. They turned out great.