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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Muffins

    Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

    Updated: Mar 28, 2022 โ€ข Published: Mar 28, 2022 by Sam Merritt โ€ข 1,017 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    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!

    cross section of a jumbo, bakery style chocolate chip muffin studded with chocolate chips of varying sizes

    (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

    Ingredients needed to make chocolate chip bakery style muffins arranged on a board

    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

    collage of four photos showing how to prepare the batter for chocolate chip muffins
    1. 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.
    2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then carefully fold them into the wet ingredients.
    3. Pause when the ingredients are about halfway mixed and add in the chocolate chips. Continue folding until everything is just combined.
    4. 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!

    collage of four photos showing chocolate chip muffin batter being portioned into a muffin tin, sprinkled with sugar, and baked

    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?

    1. Once batter has had time to rest, preheat your oven and line your muffin tin.
    2. 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.
    3. 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!
    4. 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.

    large, golden brown chocolate chip muffins with sugared tops resting on a cookie sheet

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How do you make muffins rise higher?

    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!

    Can I use this recipe with a 12-count muffin tin??

    Yes! They won’t need to bake as long though, so just keep a close eye on them.

    What’s the best way to store muffins?

    Your chocolate chip muffins will stay fresh when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them!

    jumbo bakery style chocolate chip muffin studded with chocolate chips and topped with coarse sugar

    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

    interior of a fluffy chocolate chip muffin

    Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

    These are truly bakery-style chocolate chip muffins! Huge, soft, and fluffy with mile-high sugared muffin tops, and so easy to prepare! Be sure to check out the how-to video!
    4.91 from 435 votes
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    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 23 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 38 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 Jumbo muffins
    Calories: 637kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    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

    • Mixing bowls
    • 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

    Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 637kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 252mg | Potassium: 214mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 64g | Vitamin A: 384IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 2mg

    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.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kat

      June 16, 2018 at 3:21 pm

      These were delicious. I think next I may cut back on the sugar because of the chocolate chips itโ€™s was a little too sweet for me but would be perfect for a blueberry or other fruit muffin. I might even throw some cinnamon and peaches and try it that way ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Sam

        June 17, 2018 at 11:13 am

        Glad you enjoyed, Kat!

        Reply
    2. Gail

      June 13, 2018 at 4:35 pm

      You can get all different kind and color of cupcake liners from Amazon.

      Reply
    3. Omita

      June 08, 2018 at 3:10 pm

      Is that parchment paper you use as liners?

      Reply
      • Sam

        June 09, 2018 at 9:49 am

        Yes it is ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    4. Ander

      May 27, 2018 at 5:44 pm

      Hey Sam,

      I baked a batch of these the other day to cheer up my girlfriend after a bad day.
      They were absolutely amazing! Turned her around like you wouldn’t believe!

      Looking forward to trying out another of your recipes next week.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 29, 2018 at 7:59 am

        I am so happy to hear that they were such a hit, Ander!! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    5. Liz

      May 16, 2018 at 6:24 am

      I really want to make these today, I have all of the recipe except corn starch. how important is this?

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 16, 2018 at 11:00 am

        It is important for making them soft and fluffy. They will still turn out without the corn starch, but they just won’t be as good.

        Reply
    6. Lisa

      May 09, 2018 at 12:50 pm

      Iโ€™m making them now, Iโ€™m using the regular size muffin tin, wondering if I still do the 8 min 425 and then just reduce the 15 min at 350

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 10, 2018 at 12:15 am

        There are notes in the recipe to make them in a standard sized tin, I hope that helps! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    7. Karen

      May 08, 2018 at 2:19 pm

      5 stars
      I MADE THESE TODAY & THEY ARE FANTASTIC ! DELICIOUS ! SUPER EASY TO MAKE ! MY NEW FAVORITE MUFFIN RECIPE ! THANKS FOR SHARING !

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 08, 2018 at 8:30 pm

        So happy to hear you enjoyed them! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    8. Tennis mom

      May 07, 2018 at 4:18 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you sooo much for this recipe. It is the first one I try from your blog.
      Excellent, excellent muffins. I am baking these muffins to an entire boys tennis team and after trying them now they think I am God!!! They smile when they see me coming!
      I am going to try the double chocolate ones now.
      Very nice blog as well!!!!! I want to bake them all ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
    9. Manon Dumoulin

      May 06, 2018 at 12:24 pm

      Wow seriously the best just made them and will for sure make them againโคโคโคโคโค

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 06, 2018 at 12:47 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    10. Virginia Katis

      May 02, 2018 at 12:32 pm

      Where do you get those paper liners?

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 02, 2018 at 12:58 pm

        I made them myself out of parchment paper, I cut the parchment into squares and then mold them around the bottom of a can that’s the same size as my muffin tin cavity. I’ve gotten a lot of questions on how to do this so I think I’ll have to do a quick post on it one day.

        Reply
    11. Heather

      April 30, 2018 at 12:20 pm

      What flour should I use for these muffins?
      You do not say what type of flour for these bakery style muffins. Bread flour or all purpose flour?
      Please let me know by e-mailing me

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 30, 2018 at 3:22 pm

        Hi Heather, all-purpose. I hope you love them! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    12. Norma

      April 10, 2018 at 12:58 pm

      Your muffins are the best. I made the banana muffins the other day and gave them to a neighbor and my sons family. Everyone raved and now I am on to chocolate chip ones. The best recipe ever, better than from a bakery. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 10, 2018 at 7:36 pm

        Thank you, Norma!! That means a lot to me, a lot of work goes into perfecting these recipes so I appreciate it so much that you let me know that they are enjoyed!! Thank you for commenting! <3

        Reply
    13. Emily

      March 29, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      5 stars
      These muffins are absolutely amazing.
      I’ve both made the original chocolate chip recipe as well as having substituted the chocolate chips for blueberries which were just as delicious.
      The only muffin recipe I’ll use if I can help it now!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 29, 2018 at 10:25 pm

        I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them, Emily!! ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you for commenting!!

        Reply
    14. Mamma Cow

      March 22, 2018 at 12:00 pm

      5 stars
      These are great I can’t keep them in the house more than a day. Followed exact recipe with no substitutions first time and they are fabulous. Working on my 4th batch in 2 week today! Did run out of buttermilk on 3rd batch so I “made some” and the kids couldn’t tell the difference. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 22, 2018 at 9:34 pm

        I’m glad to hear that they turned out so well!!! Thank you for commenting! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    15. Taj

      March 11, 2018 at 4:19 pm

      5 stars
      I made these using aquafaba as an egg replacement and they turned out delicious. I just left them in the oven a bit too long which made the muffin liners a bit difficult to remove.

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 12, 2018 at 8:46 am

        I’m glad to hear they turned out so well with the substitution! Thank you for commenting, Taj!! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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