These moist, light, & fluffy bakery style Chocolate Chip Muffins are perfect for impressing overnight guests or just treating yourself. They’ve got sky-high sugared tops, lots of chocolate chips, and the BEST flavor and texture. Recipe includes a how-to video!
(Still) The Best Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
When I first shared this recipe back in 2016, a google search for “chocolate chip muffins” generated roughly 1.2 million results. Today you’ll find that number is closer to 64 million. 🤯 Despite the stiff competition, I still firmly believe that I have the BEST chocolate chip muffin recipe out there…yes, better than 64 million other muffin recipes!
What makes these muffins so good? Well for starters, they’re huge–we’re talking jumbo, bakery style chocolate chip muffins! They’re also perfectly soft and fluffy (in contrast to the crisp biscotti I just shared), and of course, they’re chock full of chocolate chips. As a finishing touch, they’re sprinkled with coarse sugar, so not only are the tops slightly crisp, but they’re also kind of glittery. These muffins truly belong in a New York City bakery display, but luckily, you don’t have to plan a trip to NYC to try them.
Like my basic muffin recipe, this recipe uses a technique from The Kitchen Whisperer for nice, tall muffin tops. I use this technique in my banana muffins too, and so many of you have commented to let me know how well it works for you.
Let’s dive right into the details!
What You Need
Besides technique, these muffins use carefully selected ingredients to claim their title as the BEST. Here are a few of the game changers we’ll be using today:
- Butter + oil. I love to use this combination for a flavorful AND moist crumb. Don’t substitute one for the other–we need both!
- An extra egg white. What makes these muffins so light and fluffy? To get that bakery style chocolate chip muffin texture, we’re adding an additional egg white. Both your egg and egg white should be at room temperature for best results.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk is the secret to moist muffins! These muffins begin their bake at a fairly high temperature, so it’s important that they have the right ingredients to prevent dryness. You could use my buttermilk substitute if you don’t have the real stuff on hand, but real buttermilk adds moisture and thickness that isn’t quite duplicated with a substitute. (And no, you do not need baking soda in this recipe just because we’re using buttermilk).
- Cornstarch. This is my secret ingredient for extra soft, tender muffins. Don’t skip it!
- Chocolate chips. I like to use a blend of mini and regular sized chocolate chips, and I always reserve a few for placing on the muffin tops just before baking.
- Coarse sugar. While you’ll use granulated sugar in the muffins, I recommend sprinkling coarse sugar on the tops. This is optional, but it really elevates the look and texture and makes these truly “bakery style” chocolate chip muffins!
SAM’S TIP: Don’t have jumbo muffin liners? You can make muffin liners out of parchment paper! Not only does this save you a trip to the store, but it also gives you that bakery-style look.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Whisk together the butter and oil and sugar. Add the egg and egg white, plus the vanilla. Stir this until it is very well combined, then add the buttermilk and stir well.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then carefully fold them into the wet ingredients.
- Pause when the ingredients are about halfway mixed and add in the chocolate chips. Continue folding until everything is just combined.
- Cover your bowl with a towel and let the batter rest for 15 minutes or up to one hour while your oven preheats
Resting the batter is optional, but doing so gives us fluffier chocolate chip muffins and taller muffin tops. If you’ve made my buttermilk pancakes, you know I like to allow that batter rest while the pan preheats for the same reason, the batter thickens and the results are fluffier!
Now comes the special technique for chocolate chip muffins that rise higher than any others! You’ll start your oven on a high temperature and then drop the temperature about a third of the way through baking–without opening the door! This little trick makes your muffin tops spring to life without burning (or drying out) your muffin bottoms. Pretty cool, right?
- Once batter has had time to rest, preheat your oven and line your muffin tin.
- Fill your muffin liners with batter, making sure to fill them almost to the top (leave about ⅛ inch)–but don’t let them overflow.
- Sprinkle each muffin with coarse sugar and bake at 425F for 8 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350F (don’t open the door!) and continue baking until they begin to turn golden brown. This can take anywhere from 7-15 minutes, so keep an eye on them!
- Remove the muffins from the pan and let them cool before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: (Carefully) remove your chocolate chip muffins from the pan within 5-10 minutes of them coming out of the oven. If you leave them in their hot pan, the bottoms may become soggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re using a varying temperature technique here, which plays a big role in helping the muffins rise. But another key step is resting your batter. The longer it rests, the thicker it will be, and thicker batter means taller muffins! I recommend letting your batter rest for at least 15 minutes, but if you can let it sit for about an hour or so, you’ll be rewarded with beautifully tall muffin tops!
Yes! They won’t need to bake as long though, so just keep a close eye on them.
Your chocolate chip muffins will stay fresh when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them!
If you try these, I’d love it if you commented to let me know how they stack up against the 64 million (and counting) other chocolate chip muffin recipes out there!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled at least 5 minutes (57g)
- ¼ cup canola oil may substitute vegetable oil (60ml)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (220g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips I used a mix of mini and regular sized, but you can use either or a combination (175g)
- ⅓ cup additional granulated sugar, coarse sugar preferred for topping (67g)
Recommended Equipment
- 6-count Jumbo Muffin Tin (see note for making 12 muffins)
Instructions
- Combine butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add egg, egg white, and vanilla extract. Whisk together thoroughly, until all ingredients are well-combined, then stir in buttermilk until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, corn starch, and salt.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet gently, taking care not to overmix. Once about half of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the batter, add in chocolate chips and continue to fold in to batter until all ingredients are just combined.
- Cover bowl with a dry towel and allow batter to sit while your oven preheats (see note).
- Preheat oven to 425F (215C) and line a 6-count jumbo muffin tin with paper liners.
- Once your oven has preheated (maybe give it a few extra minutes or check your oven thermometer, my oven often says it's reached temperature when it really hasn't yet!), portion batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each tin all the way to the top with batter (without overflowing).
- Sprinkle tops generously with additional sugar and place muffin tin in preheated oven.
- Bake on 425F (218C) for 8 minutes and then, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C) and bake another 15 minutes, or until tops are just beginning to turn golden brown Note: if you are using a standard 12-count muffin tin rather than jumbo-sized, they will not need to bake as long, check your muffins after 7-8 minutes on 350F (177C)).
- Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5-10 minutes then carefully remove from muffin tin and enjoy!
Notes
Allowing the muffin batter to sit
This step is optional, but it helps the batter thicken and ultimately results in taller muffin tops. Allowing the batter to sit for up to 60 minutes also works and will yield even taller tops.Storing
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Baked muffins may also be cooled and then frozen in an airtight container for several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Jill
Made these twice within 24hours everyone loved them!😋
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for trying my recipe, Jill!
Chai
Loved it!
Sommer
Made these a second time today except with half semi-sweet chocolate and half white chocolate. So good!!
Amira
I doubled the recipe and used a 12 muffin pan. Followed the recipe and let the batter sit covered in the bowl for an hour, but they haven’t risen and are taking much longer to bake. Really wanted to love this recipe, but it didn’t work for me.
Sam
O no! I’m so sorry this happened! The only thing I think that could have happened here was potentially over-mixing with the double ingredients. 🙁 I hope you were still able to enjoy them. 🙂
Amira
It was so strange. I make double batches of your banana muffin recipe often, so I have extras to store in the freezer. But this is my first time making this recipe. I did notice your cups measurements note less than a regular Canadian cup size (250mL). Could that possibly be it?
Sam
That is so strange. The ml measurement isn’t that far off as 1 cup of oil would be 240ml by my calculations so that shouldn’t cause any issues. 🙁
Becca
These were delicious. I made 6 but they really didn’t rise. They also took 8 minutes longer than stated in recipe, I have no thoughts at all on why,
Lynn
Can you please tell me how to adjust the recipe for 3500 feet elevation?
Thank you
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lynn! Unfortunately we’re not familiar with high altitude baking, so we can’t advise on any changes you may need. Hopefully someone else can chime in and help 🙁
Ruthie
Can you make mini muffins? What would be the adjusted times/ oven temps? Thank you 😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ruthie! We haven’t made them mini but would suggest you would follow the baking instructions on our cinnamon mini muffins. They should be pretty similar. 🙂
Lynette Cory
What a delicious muffin ! This is about the best I have ever made. They were perfect in size and so moist. This recipe is spot on. I followed it completely the way it was written and they were sensational. What a talented company Sugar Spun Run is ,and I so appreciate all the magnificent recipes.
Colleen patafio
Excellent recipe! Thx for sharing!! 🤩🤩
Erin Beck
I have probably tried 7+ different recipes before I stumbled on your magical one. They are WONDERFUL! They are moist, taste wonderful, freeze well. My oven is a little low, so I had to leave them in a little longer. I also added 1/8 tsp of nutmeg. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! They will be my breakfast for a long time to come! <3
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they turned out so nicely for you, Erin! Love the nutmeg addition too. Enjoy 🥰
Erin Beck
I started making them in double batches to freeze. Do I still use 2 eggs and 2 egg whites? Or can I just use 3 eggs? Again… best muffin recipe EVER. Thank you so much! <3
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much Erin! Yes, I would use 2 eggs and 2 egg whites. 🙂
Amy
My kids thought that I had bought these at a bakery. So yes, they are AMAZING! I didn’t add the decorative sugar on top and that was just fine by us. These are the best. Thank you for the recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Aw, that’s so sweet! We’re so happy they were a hit with your family Amy 🥰
Sommer
These are delicious! Thank you so much
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you think so, Sommer 🥰
Kathy Breteton
Great recipes. Simple but a delicious muffin.
Next time I will let the batter sit for a longer period of time to get higher muffin tops.
Another thing I might try is baking them at 350 to so the edges don’t get brown.
Cheryl
Love this recipe. The details make the difference. This time mine didn’t rise or brown and took longer to cook. I’m sure it’s me. Since I’ve made many times, it’s a five star.
It could be two things. The baking powder, it’s about a year old. I threw it away. Then, I used the stand alone silicone cups. My daughter bought them. You don’t need a muffin tin. This is the first time that I’ve used them. Would you please test them for me? The ones that she bought are from IKEA. Thank you for your recipes.
Sam
Hi Cheryl! I’m sorry they didn’t turn out. I would definitely start with the new baking powder. I don’t think the stand alone silicone cups would cause any issues.