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 (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
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.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
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.
Angelica
These are amazing! The crunch on the outside is perfection, definitely aided by the extra sugar on top. I used my colored sanding sugars for an extra shimmer. Thank you for recipe, now I can make bakery muffins right in my house on Sunday mornings. For muffin liners, I use PaperChef parchment large baking cups and they don’t stick to the muffins.
Sam
Thank you, Angelica!! I’m so glad you enjoyed, thank you for coming back and letting me know how they turned out for you 🙂
Kris
Can these be made the day before and baked the next morning?
Sam
I haven’t tried doing this so I’m not sure, I wouldn’t recommend it unfortunately
Jo Ann
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I am always, always searching for “that” recipe that trumps all the others I’ve tried in the past. By the comments, it sure seems this could be the one I’ve been searching for with Chocolate Chip Muffins!!! I was wondering if more butter could replace the oil? I know you said you played around with the recipe so I was just wondering. In many cases butter can but again, I’m certinaly not the expert here. I love to bake and just came across your site and will be looking at kitchen whisperers also. Thank you again Sam!!!!
Sam
Hi Jo Ann! I wouldn’t swap the oil for butter, I tried them that way and they were drier than I wanted them, the oil keeps them nice and soft. I hope you love the muffins!! 🙂
Lisa
I found these to be very moist (I hate dry muffins), flavorful. Following the recipe and using the ice cream scoop made for beautiful domed tops. Thank you for sharing all of your research!
Sam
So glad to hear that you enjoyed, Lisa!! 🙂
Jlynn
Perfect. Yummy. Even my 10 year old and 13 year old loved these. And they never agree on anything. Can’t wait to make them again!
Sam
I am so glad to hear it!! Thank you for letting me know how they turned out for you! 🙂
Lauren Main
Just made these tonight! I used a standard muffin pan. I didn’t have cornstarch 🙁 so I opted for a teaspoon of baking soda instead. I also realized after baking I forgot the salt lol! But they still turned out so amazing!!!! I am going to make these again soon will ALL correct ingredients lol! These will forever be my go to muffin recipe!
Sam
So glad to hear that they turned out with the substitutions! Thanks for coming back and letting me know how you liked them, Lauren! 🙂
Cameron
So…I don’t normally take the effort to leave feedback, but your recipe was so excellent that it calls for a post. My family ate the muffins warm out of the oven, and they are so fluffy, light, and almost cake like. Great job!
A little feedback, keeping in mind it is from someone who doesn’t bake a great deal.
“Fold dry ingredients into wet gently, taking care not to overmix. Once about half of the dry ingredients have been combined, add in chocolate chips and continue to fold in to batter.”
It took a couple of reads to understand that the chocolate chips go into the flour, and then you continue folding the dry into the wet ingredients. I initially thought you were suggesting to put the chocolate chips directly into the wet.
Thanks 🙂
Sam
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them so much, Cameron!! Thank you for coming back and commenting to let me know how they turned out for you, I really appreciate it! 🙂
Lauren
Damnnnnnnn! I totally read that incorrectly as well. I thought I was supposed to add all of the dry at once and after about half was incorporated into the wet then add the chips into the mix. I was a bit surprised as to why I would be adding all of the dry at the same time, but I went with it because that is how I understood it as written. Too late now! They are about to go into the oven, so fingers crossed!
Sam
Hi Lauren! You read it correctly, that’s exactly how I do it, you can even see it in the video just above the recipe. Once you have your dry ingredients partially combined, then stir in your chocolate chips. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Sue
Search no further for the perfect chocolate chip muffin recipes! I love that this makes 6 jumbo muffins…enough to eat them fresh with no leftovers (I did buy a jumbo pan and 500 liners on Amazon for cheap). I love from-scratch baking, and especially with the buttermilk and melted butter. I do change up my chips from minis to milk chocolate to mixing them together. Such a great recipe…THANK YOU!
Sam
I’m SO glad to hear that you enjoyed them!!! Thank you for coming back to let me know how they turned out, Sue!!
Jordan
I absolutely loved this recipe! I made these for my boyfriend and some of our friends and they were perfect! I could not thank you enough for sharing this recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad to ear it! Thank you so much for coming me back and letting me know how you liked it, Jordan!!
Amanda Van
Do you think I could use this base batter for blueberry muffins? (Adding the blueberries just before I put in the muffin tins after rising?)
I made these for a gathering and they were DEVOURED, but I need a “no chocolate” dessert this weekend and thought of these, just maybe blueberry instead…
What do you think?
Sam
Definitely! I’ve used it myself for Blueberry muffins. I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them, and hope you like them just as much with blueberries! 🙂
wargirl5
I was hesitant cause it didn’t have a stars listed and there are so many to choose from. I have a recipe but it’s with biscuit mix. I wanted something like u had. I have was NOT disappointed they were fabulous!!! But I think I was about a tbl spoon of oil short. They were moist but could have been tiny bit more.
My oven cooks fast. I did big muffins 425 7min and 350 14 min. Love the crusty tops with the sugar.
Definitely make these again! I’ll make these for my church’s staff too!
lorrie
Can’t thank you enough my adult son loves choc. chip muffins but my usual recipe always turns out dry in my search for a new recipe I found yours and I am not disappointed they were amazing moist and not dry a new hit for our family I had to repost your recipe to facebook.
Marcella
Just made these for the 1st time and sampled while warm from the over.
I made 12 regular size muffins and they are delicious!
My first recipe from your blog and I’ll be back to look around some more.
Thank you!
I think next time I will use mini chocolate chips. (only had big ones in the house so went with that)
Sam
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them, Marcella! Thank you for coming back to comment and let me know how they turned out for you!! <3
John Mcclure
I just made this recipe and it is the most delicious chocolate chip muffin I have ever had. I WILL be making them again. I used jumbo muffin tins and they came out fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Bravo!
Sam
Yay! I’m so glad that you loved them, John! Thanks for coming back and letting me know how they turned out for you!
Chuck
Made a batch of regular size blueberry. Immediately after, made a batch of jumbo chocolate chip. An hour later, ANOTHER batch of regular size blueberry.
Truly, THE best muffins, ever. Better than anything I have had in any bakery or restaurant.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sam
I love hearing this!!! So glad you enjoyed the muffins, Chuck, and thank you for coming back to let me know how they turned out!! 🙂