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.
CJ
BEST MUFFINS IN THE WORLD-
Jazzalyn Barone
I substituted sour cream for buttermilk as I didn’t have any and added cinnamon these muffins are incredible!! 10/10!! Will def be doing these again.
Leslie
I baked for 8 min at 425 and 7 minutes at 350 and still undercooked. Added 5 minutes and still undercooked. Waiting and checking every few minutes now. Any idea why mine aren’t cooking as fast?
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Leslie! Are you using a jumbo 6-ct muffin tin or a standard 12-ct? If you’re using a jumbo, they need 15 minutes on 350. If you’re using standard 12-count, they should be done after 7-8 minutes on 350. Could your oven temperature not be as hot as you think? A lot of ovens don’t run true to temperature, we highly recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure your oven temperature is correct!
Emily
The same happened to me as well I did 8 mins on 425 and 8 for 350 and they still look wet on the tops obviously raw.
I have a 12 count muffin tin.
I am adding 7 more minutes to see if they will be finished.
Brenden Clark
I made these for my GF and now she wants to be my wife.
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s just the kind of muffins these are 😉. We’re so happy you two love them so much!
Itaty
Would time be the same for a 24 count regular muffin tin? Thank you in advance!
Sam
I actually have notes on baking them as regular muffins in step 9. 🙂
Gila
Easy, friendly recipe. You can’t go wrong.Great results
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Gila! We’re so glad you love them!🙂
Alyssa Pierce
Question: I want to substitute the flour for the King Arthur 1:1 GF flour, since I’m GF. And I also am DF, so I was wondering if you have any recommendations for that? Your muffins look the best out of the recipes I saw and wanna make sure I make them right according to the substitutions.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Alyssa! You can try using a plant-based butter and nondairy milk to make our buttermilk substitute. Let us know how they turn out for you!
Molly
I followed the recipe exactly & baked at time specified but noticed the muffins were crispy on top. The next day, they were hard as a rock. So disappointed. Not sure if it could have been the cornstarch in the recipe that caused this. I’ve never had an issue with any muffin recipes before.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Molly! The most likely cause of this would be over-baking the muffins. 🙁 I would try checking them a minute or two earlier next time. 🙂
Ryan
Best muffin recipe I’ve found. I’ve made them a few times now with chocolate chips and recently blueberry and they are delicious every time. Let them sit for at least 30 minutes before baking and they come out so light and fluffy.
Gabrielle
preheat oven should be first so you’re not waiting for oven to heat up…
Rochelle
Perfection every single time! I turn these into mini muffins for my large family and all 9 kids eat them up! One of the few recipes everyone loves!
Kat
forgot to rate for my last comment!
Kat
I have no idea why some of the comments mention this being overly sweet – they were perfect and really weren’t super sweet. My first time ever making muffins, thank you for making such a thorough recipe and guide. I did a 12-muffin tin and only had enough mix for 11, but I did them at 8min @ 425 and 7min @ 350 and they came out perfect. Thank you!
Kim
I doubled the recipe, it made 12 perfect huge muffins that my family adored. I waited 30 min. before putting them in the oven and they rose a lot. They really were just like at the bakery. Only substitution was 1/2 oat milk 1/2 regular milk for making the buttermilk. Will make this recipe again 🙂
Amy
The time 8 mins for the twelve muffin tin is not right. Underdone…
Sam
Hi Amy, if you only baked them for 8 minutes they would be underdone. The instructions call for 8 minutes + an additional 8 for 16 total (the time is divided due to the different temperature). Hope that helps!
Amy Markert
Thank you! I didn’t seem to interpret the directions like that but thank you so much! Mine also turned out with a slight tart sour taste in some of the bites. Do you know why this would happen? Could it be the corn starch?
Sam
I don’t think it would be the cornstarch here, but the baking soda could potentially be bad.
Rachel
Followed recipe and did not like the taste at all. They were too sweet and too hard. Not bakery like at all and won’t make this recipe again.
Sam
I’m sorry to hear this happened, Rachel! Did you make any substitutions or alterations? If they were hard, is it possible they were over-baked?
Jessica
My husband and I made these muffins and OMG I’m in love with them. I use to get the box and make muffins that way but I will never make muffins like that again thanks to this amazing recipe. I am very picky with my muffins I don’t like them dry and I need alot of chocolate chips but these muffins are so moist, fluffy and the perfect amount of chocolate. I did use the standard muffin tin and they still came out perfect. Thank you so much for my new addiction. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my recipe box and looking through all of your other recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy our recipe was such a winner for you, Jessica! Thanks for coming back to leave a review–we really appreciate it!
Riley
I made these, using a kitchen aid, and the chocolate chips completely sunk to the bottom, not a sight of one on top. What did I do wrong? I use mini chocolate chips. Did I just over mix?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Riley! It likely was over-mixed. The batter should really be folded together by hand to prevent this from happening. 🙁
Sarah
I followed the instructions for baking in a normal muffin tin. I took them out when they were getting brown on the tops, but they were still underdone on the insides. My family and I found them overly sweet. I make muffins for my family about every week, but these will not make another appearance.