Originally published in 2013, this chocolate chip muffin recipe has remained a reader favorite. 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.
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.
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 degrees, then for about 25 minutes at 350°F degrees. 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°F – 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. Or just need to satisfy a craving fast? Try my recipe for 1 chocolate chip muffin.
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)Â 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)Â 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.
Love your recipes Sally! Do you think these muffins would freeze well?
Hi Jessica! Muffins freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.
My grandson is a firm fan and thet bake perfectly evert time All your recipes are favorites Thanks
Excellent muffin recipe! Easy to make and they turned out perfect.
Wow, this recipe turned out so perfectly. The muffins are stunning, soft, fluffy, moist, and the bakery top is exact.
These turned out perfect, I made them in regular silicone cups and got 18.
Fabulous muffin recipe, I made them with mini chips and raspberries- they were a huge hit with my family and neighbor
I have always failed miserably with muffins but these were fantastic and a massive hit with the family! Simple quick but tasted amazing! I have tried many of your recipes and they all come out beautifully! Thank you!
Hi Sally! I am a beginner and keep trying your recipes and they come out perfect evrytime. Never thought I can bake too good. All thanks to you.
So glad you’re having success with our recipes, Swati!
Hey Sally! Love your recipes. Wondering if you ever mix the batter and let sit in fridge overnight to bake the next morning. I work at an Inn and we serve pastries as the first course for breakfast and there is not always time to mix ingredients in the morning
Hi Amy! We don’t recommend making muffin batter ahead of time as the muffins may not properly rise. So glad you enjoy our recipes!
These are the best chocolate chip muffins I have made and definitely large like a bakery muffin.
Whenever I make muffins they always fall flat once they come out but not these! They are so perfect. I used half brown sugar and half white sugar, and Kefir instead of milk (I usually use it as a 1:1 substitute for buttermilk and it worked well here too!). Couldn’t believe the tops stayed so round and tall once they cooled, and the sugar crystals added the perfect crunch.
I will say this made way more than 12 standard muffins made with a cupcake pan! I would say it’s probably somewhere between 18-24 so plan for extras!
Haven’t baked yet, but my batter isn’t nearly as thick as described. I’m a fairly experienced baker and I was pretty meticulous :/ not sure what went wrong. I was kind of surprised by a whole cup of milk based on how you described it.
Hi Sally! Is it possible to sub the plain yogurt for greek yogurt? Is there anything I could do to pull the Tangiers back if I do use it? Thank you!!
Hi Hannah! You can absolutely use greek yogurt, as long as it isn’t a fat-free variety (whole milk is best!). The tanginess shouldn’t be too prominent in these muffins, we often bake with greek yogurt.
Hi, Sally, I was wondering if I could sub all or parts of the sugar for brown sugar?
Hi Menolly, you can use 1/2 cup (100g) white granulated sugar and 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar.
Looking for cinnamon chip jumbo muffins that was here a few weeks ago
Hi George! Those muffins sound delicious, but we don’t have a recipe for that particular muffin. Perhaps it was on another website? You can certainly add cinnamon chips instead of chocolate chips to this recipe if desired.
Can vanilla flowered yogurt be substituted?
Hi Steve, that should work in a pinch.
Can u use salted butter or does it have to be unsalted?
Hi Jessica, we recommend reducing salt to 1/4 tsp if using salted butter. Here’s more on salted vs unsalted butter in baking!
These are really fluffy and delicious!
These are amazing and just what I was looking for. But halfway through baking they started oozing out of the muffin cups. What could be the cause of this? I will definitely make again!
Hi Brittany, the only thing I can think of is that the batter wasn’t sufficiently mixed together, and the batter oozing out was thinner than the rest of the batter. Try again, and mix a little longer. I think you’ll have more success next time.
Hi Sally! I am having trouble getting my muffin tops to spread, and I am wondering if it’s because we are using a smaller silicone pan? I love this recipe.
Hi Julia, that could be the reason! We typically use metal muffin pans, so don’t have much experience with silicone ones. I’m glad to hear the muffins still taste good for you, though!
Hello, Sally. I tried this recipe yesterday. The muffins were delicious, but a kind of dense. May I ask, did I do something wrong to make them dense, or are they supposed to be that way? I saw at the last minute that the 12 count muffin pan is supposed to be baked for 20 minutes instead of 25 minutes, so was that the problem? May I try using cake flour for this recipe?
Hi Ashley, 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. But otherwise, it was likely the difference in bake time if you made them in a standard-size 12-count muffin pan. We hope you give this recipe another try!
Oh, I see. I probably didn’t level the flour, and or I over mixed the batter. My mistake. They were still very good, though. I’ll give it another try, but don’t get me wrong, I still love this recipe. Thank you so much.
These are not just my favorite chocolate chip muffins, but my family’s as well!! Had a last minute request for these this morning but had no full fat sour cream or plain yogurt in the house. I took a risk and subbed full fat mayonnaise as I’ve used it in a chocolate cake. Worked great; if anything seems to have made these even more tender. The true secret to this recipe is the sprinkling of coarse sugar. Adds a satisfying crunch and the hint of a second texture that sends these muffins over the top.
Had trouble because my electric oven does not drop down quickly from 425 to 350 degrees. Is there another way I could bake these muffins?
Hi Sue! You can bake them the whole time at 350 instead, keep an eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Can the chocolate chip muffin recipe be made in muffin top pans?
Hi Judy, we haven’t tested it but let us know if you do!
Sally’s Baking Addiction never disappoints. My go to source for every recipe! These muffins are perfect!
These are delicious. I have them I’m the oven right now actually. The first time I went to make them I was half way through when I realized I had only one egg. A quick Google search said I could substitute a half a ripe banana for an egg- so I did. My family loved the subtle hint of banana. So today- even though I had 2 eggs, I substituted banana for one.
So I tooootally messed the first batch up using 3 TSP BICARB SODA instead of baking powder. Yeh, they weren’t great. The second batch turned out much better. I used the coconut oil and buttermilk variations. I also used milk choc chips instead of dark. And of course only 1/2 tsp od bicarb this time.
I made this recipe using the suggestion of the buttermilk for the milk. They were moist and baked up perfectly. Loved the flavor!! I will definitely make these again!
While I liked this recipe a lot, it seems that a little more sugar is needed. I felt my muffins lacked sweetness.
Is this recipe supposed to mildly sweet?
I followed everything on this recepe and somehow mine came out super duper dry, not sure what i did wrong but probably wont make these again. I did love how big they came out!
Hi Alyse! Dry muffins could be caused by over-baking or too much flour in the batter. 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.
Can you make batter the night before for these muffins? I need them in the morning but unsure if I’ll have enough time to make them first thing. Thanks!
Hi Jaedyn, We don’t recommend making the batter ahead of time. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, the leaveners are activated and it’s best to bake the muffins right away.