Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
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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
Equipment
- 6-count Jumbo Muffin Tin (see note for making 12 muffins)
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled at least 5 minutes
- ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil, may substitute vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature preferred
- 1 ¾ cup (220 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup (175 g) chocolate chips, I used a mix of mini and regular sized, but you can use either or a combination
- ⅓ cup (67 g) additional granulated sugar, coarse sugar preferred, for topping
Instructions
- Combine butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk together.4 Tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg, egg white, and vanilla extract. Whisk together thoroughly, until all ingredients are well-combined, then stir in buttermilk until combined.1 large egg + 1 egg white, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ cup buttermilk
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, corn starch, and salt.1 ¾ cup (220 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons corn starch, ½ teaspoon table 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.1 cup (175 g) chocolate chips
- 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.⅓ cup (67 g) additional granulated sugar, coarse sugar preferred
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
So yum!! I didn’t have buttermilk but replaced with kefir. Added a little cinnamon and fresh nutmeg. These are so good, and the base works great for blueberry muffins too. This recipe is a total keeper
These muffins are amazing! I was just about to give up on muffins since every batch I tried felt so dense and undercooked after following the exact recipe. There is hope! I will be making these over and over again ❤️ I appreciate you doing the research for us and developing this killer recipe. 🙂
Remade these with Cranberries instead of choco chips and lemon extract instead of vanilla and they are heaven 😍 LOVE the consistency of this recipe. If you are thinking of trying it, Do it now! Won’t be disappointed.
I love the choice of the lemon and cranberry combination, Damayra! They sound amazing. I am so glad that you were able to adapt my chocolate chip muffin recipe so easy to make your own baked good creation. Enjoy! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Do you happen to know how many carbs in these? I have a student wanting to make these and has diabetes. Thank you 🙂
Hi! I just added carbs and other nutrition information to the recipe card. Please keep in mind though that I am not a nutritionist and the calories/other nutrition info should be considered an approximation as it will vary depending on the brand of ingredients that are used and other factors. I do hope this helps, though!
Wow, wow, wow. These were absolutely delicious. I love making muffins; little fluffy serving-size (or maybe a tad bit larger 😉) portions of goodness that more than flatter a great morning cup of coffee or a dessert glass of milk.
This recipe totally knocked it out of the park, and it’s definitely ahead of those 1 million recipes that you’ll find when Googling. Thanks Sam!
Thank you so much for the 5-star review, Heather! I am so glad that the chocolate chip muffins were such a hit! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Absolutely delicious! They made a beautiful looking muffin as well!
Thank you so much, Lisa! I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
These were easy to make and delicious. First batch, I followed instructions to the tee. Second batch, I ran out of white sugar so substituted about half the sugar with light brown. There was no discernible difference. I will, for sure, make them again.
I’m so glad to hear the chocolate chip muffins were such a success! Thank you for commenting and letting me know how they turned out, I appreciate it 🙂
Hi! I’m very new to baking. I love your recipes. They provide a wonderful level of detail! Can I make mini-muffins using this recipe and technique? Thank you!!
Thank you so much, Beth! Yes, you can make mini muffins using this recipe. I recommend keeping an eye on them, as the bake time will vary. Enjoy! 🙂
First time EVER leaving a comment for a recipe. I have tried many muffin recipes, only to be disappointed. Your muffins are outstanding! The texture is everything I hoped it would be. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and for the 5-star review, Leidy! I am so happy that you enjoyed the chocolate chip muffins. 🙂
No one else’s chocolate chips sank to the bottom? Mine did. Fantastic tasting muffin, but one should really toss the chocolate chips in flour before putting them in the batter.
Hi, Amanda! I am glad that you enjoyed the chocolate chip muffins but sad to hear your chocolate chips sank. I haven’t experienced it with this recipe. Yes, next time you can gently coat your chips with flour prior to mixing them into the batter and this should resolve the issue. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Best muffins I have ever made! Could you tell me if they can be frozen?
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Kimbelee! Yes, you should be fine freezing them. I recommend storing them in an airtight container. 🙂
I wish I could include a picture of the difference between the muffins I baked without resting the batter and the one that had a chance to rest for about 16 minutes because there was no room in the muffin pan for her. She definitely rose in a much lovelier way than my impatient ones. All are extremely delicious, love this easy recipe. Oh and I made them in my basic sized muffin tin and got a bakers dozen.
Isn’t it crazy what a difference it makes!? Unfortunately I rarely have the patience myself, haha. So glad you enjoyed the chocolate chip muffins, Molly 🙂
Is it better to let the batter rest?
I think so, for higher muffin tops 🙂
I have made these 3 times in a row! My husband said they tasted better than the Costco bakery muffins his boss brought in. The better the quality of the chocolate you use, the better they will be. Turbinado sugar on top is a must, makes the tops extra tasty!
Thank you so much for your comment, Sam! I am so glad that you enjoyed the Chocolate Chip Muffins! 🙂
Delicious!
Thank you so much, Maura! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
These were great! Made 12 smaller muffins instead of 6 jumbo and brought them to work on a Friday morning. Instead of topping with coarse sugar, I used brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon. I highly recommend this. One of my coworkers commented that the muffins looked like they had come from a bakery. Everyone enjoyed.
I am so happy that everyone enjoyed the Chocolate Chip Muffins, Allison. I love the substitution of brown sugar and cinnamon on top as well. Enjoy! 🙂
Good! My husband wanted muffins that tasted like cookies and these fit the bill!
I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed the Chocolate Chip Muffins, Rebecca! Thanks for commenting. 🙂