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) vegetable 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
Ok, I never comment, I do always read the comments though. However this time I didn’t read the comments until after I was halfway done baking. I have never had a recipe from this site not turn out well(I bake a lot) So I needed to investigate.
First I noticed these were more brown on top then the pictures and seemed to cook way faster. After this I started reading the comments while testing one. They were delicious, a little more dry than I like but yummy nonetheless.
I started noticing others comment on the cook time and dryness, then it clicked. I scrolled up to see the recipe times in the main instructions were for JUMBO muffins! So I went to the notes and adjusted my baking times for the rest of the batter.
Honestly, I would think most people use standard muffin pans, so maybe the original baking time should have been for standard and the notes section should have had options for baking in mini and jumbo pans. Viewing on the mobile phone had adds block scrolling a bit and make it harder to notice notes unless you are looking for them, this is just my opinion though, I was the one who read it wrong and I think based on other commenters, they may have as well.
I didn’t have any vanilla so I used Almond extract (only 1/4 tsp b/c almond is strong) and my son used all the vegetable oil the night before on a science experiment so I had to use olive oil.
Even with these substitutions, they were delicious and even better when I cooked them correctly.
Tip for even more bakery style high muffins that I used- fill up only every other muffin cup (it makes them rise higher and doesn’t overcrowd) because I am away on travel the home I’m in only has a pan that yields 6 muffins though so baking 3 at a time took forever. Worth it though.
I’ve made these twice now. The first time was with a new muffin pan and i learned that 25 minutes at 350 was too long. While they were delicious , they were just a bit over baked. Reduced to 20 minutes for the second batch and that yielded perfect muffins. This is a wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely love this recipe! If l want a dozen jumbo sized muffins, can l simply double the recipe?
Hi Hannah, for best results (and to prevent over or under mixing) we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling. So glad you enjoyed the muffins!
Where can I find the nutritional information for your chocolate chip muffins?
Thank you,
Kelly
Hi Kelly, 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
Can I use half and half instead of milk?
Should be fine, Linda!
This muffins are pretty good, nice flavour with the vanilla and cinnamon/nutmeg. Great texture inside and crispy top. I did need to add about 1/4 cup extra milk as the batter was very thick. Also they weren’t quite sweet enough for my liking so will add alittle extra sugar next time.
So, I made these today, a long with making sourdough bread. I guess I was doing too many things at once and I forgot to add the sugar to the batter That being said, these muffins still tasted amazing. The texture is a little off, but still amazing. Kid approved even. Thank you for the great. I can’t wait to try it the correct way.
10/10
thank you for sharing.
tried this and my children absolutely loved it!
I made these the other day in higher altitude, they turned out delicious. I made made half standard muffins and half mini muffins. This could be due to my altitude, but I preferred the texture of the mini muffins to the standard muffins. My standard muffins browned a little bit more than my preference.
I also had just a little bit less than the amount of sugar on the recipe, it was more like 3/4 ish cup and they still were great .
Will definitely make these again. It’s a great way to get rid of some chocolate chips.
These were made twice. The first time our nanny made them and they didn’t taste very good so I assumed she put too much baking powder or soda. So I figured I’d make the next batch. Nope, that’s just the way the taste. These are my least favorite muffins I’ve ever made 🙁 Obviously plenty of people like these but I think there are better recipes out there. I prefer batter that’s more runny I guess. This batter reminded me of a loose bread dough
Can I use all butter in this recipe instead of oil?
Hi Elizabeth, we don’t recommend it. Oil is important here for moistness. Using all butter would result in a drier muffin.
Turned out delicious even with nonfit greek yogurt and dairy free milk! I had what I thought were two standard size muffin tins, and this filled about 10 of them to the brim instead of all 12. Did 5 mins at 425 and about 20 mins at 350. Perfect!
Beautiful and delicious! Made exact recipe – with sour cream – and milk chocolate chips -this recipe gave light and fluffy, perfectly balanced, not too sweet muffins. Thank you for including the weight/grams to ensure a better end product! This will be my go-to muffin recipe from now on.
Made these without sugar in the batter (oops lol) and they were still delicious! I made mini ones, just used the whole 10 oz bag of chocolate chips and put an extra generous helping of sprinkling sugar on top. My 4 year old scarfed them down!
My grand baby’s loved the mini ones, everyone loved the cupcake size ones Thank you for putting the baking instructions for them also, that’s a big help
I am thinking some of the negative reviews are also because people are not adjusting the times for smaller muffins. I made these before and they were delicious! Today I forgot to adjust the time and they turned out dry. But again it was my fault. So pay attention to times and room temp ingredients! It makes a difference
I made these today, the first time in like 10 years I’ve actually baked cakes that aren’t just banana bread. I’m 22 & Autistic, and this was a great recipe to follow as it had so much detail. I added some chopped Walnuts and they are 1000% incredible. So light and fluffy, they rose beautifully and with the sugar on top, a gorgeous crispy top. Addictive..! 100/10 ⭐️
Definitely going to use it again.!
My daughter made these muffins because she makes breakfast every Monday. She found the instructions easy to follow. She skipped the sugar topping, but they were great just the same.
I baked these today and they made my morning. Thank you!
I’ve made a few of your recipes this summer and they all turn out delicious on the first try. Your notes and descriptions are gold.
Now when I’m looking for a new recipe and I see you have one, I always choose yours to try. No regrets!
Absolutely delicious. So tender and soft! Loved the addition of the cinnamon.
Hi, Quick question…can this recipe be doubled? Thanks.
Hi Leigh! We recommend making two batches instead of doubling for best results.
I made this recipe, I didn’t use melted butter just the vegetable oil. I forgot to add salt but still tasted great. The top was crunchy and inside is moist. I reduced the sugar though just a little bit, and yet still great. Thanks for this recipe
Hi how many muffins does this recepie make ?
Hi Kathie, This recipe yields 6 jumbo muffins or 15 standard muffins.
Yummy, family enjoyed and wasn’t too complicated. I also didn’t have any nutmeg but they still taste great
Hi Sally:
I am really loving baking with you but I have an issue with the muffins. After ‘folding’ the wet into the dry the instructions say to ‘whisk to break up lumps remaining’. Well, there are always a lot of lumps at that stage (for me) and, by the time I am done ‘whisking’ I am pretty sure I have undone the good of folding. And my muffins are not as tender as I would like. Should I just fold and leave some lumps or how do I NOT overmix my batter? Thanks for any help with this as I have made a few batches and they are definitely on the dense side.
Hi Judi! Does the batter seem quite dry? How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Too much flour would make the batter more difficult to mix properly and lead to over-mixing.
These were awful. Worst muffin I’ve made in 50 years awful. Threw away.
I was hesitant because of some of the reviews on this. I do not know why I ever doubted a recipe on this site. I have never ever had a bad recipe from here ever. Made it exactly as it was written except I added 1tsp of Dutch process cocoa powder to the dry mix. These were soooooooo delicious. If I could leave 10 stars I would. I am not sure why there are bad reviews the only thing I can think is that the batter was over mixed and the cold ingredients were not room temp and yes that makes a difference. Cooking is an art but baking is a SCIENCE.
Great recipe once again ❤️❤️❤️
Not that great, edible but a little dry. Yes I spooned the flour. The measurements are also just odd…3 tsp is the same as 1 tbs. 1/3 cup butter is more than 5 tbs.
My kids are obsessed with these muffins! These are the only homemade muffins they like and they ask for more as soon as they are gone!
We’re so happy to read this, Kate!
These bakery style chocolate chip muffins are delicious! Your steps to quick puff the tops worked perfectly! Definitely became my go-to recipe for requests from the grandkids 🙂
Pregnant momma here waking up with a craving for chocolate chip muffins! Sally’s is a go-to for me for all recipes and if you follow this one, you’ll be rewarded! I did substitute the milk for unflavored almond milk and instead used vanilla greek yogurt vs. sour cream. They turned out great! Light a fluffy! I also couldn’t help but add more chocolate chips than recommended – whoops!
I’m here thanks to a pregnancy craving too! Glad to hear this will get the job done! And great idea on the greek yogurt substitution.