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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Muffins

    Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

    Published: March 28, 2022 by Sam Merritt โ€ข 1,044 Comments

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

    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!
    4.92 from 446 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. Emily

      April 11, 2019 at 11:42 am

      5 stars
      GREAT recipe! Iโ€™ve been trying to recreate muffins from my favorite bakery that I moved away from, and these are definitely the closest. Small note: I make regular sized muffins and Iโ€™ve tried baking them for 7 minutes at 425 and 7 minutes at 350, and Iโ€™ve tried doing 5 minutes at 425 and 10-12 minutes at 350. Baking for 5 minutes at 425 and 10-12 at 350 is MUCH better.

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 11, 2019 at 3:29 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Emily! Thank you for the feedback in regards to making regular sized muffins. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    2. KBT

      April 07, 2019 at 2:06 pm

      5 stars
      THANK YOU for this recipe. I adapted them to a gluten free version and got a lovely rise without the addition of xanthan gum. I too love looking into kitchen chemistry, especially since going gf/xg free and you had me at room temperature ๐Ÿ™‚ I’ll be following you from now on for sure!

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 07, 2019 at 4:31 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins! Thank you for feedback on making them gluten free! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    3. Stacy

      April 04, 2019 at 10:53 am

      5 stars
      My 5 & 3 year old baked these yesterday… I was so surprised with how delicious they were. So soft, yet crunchy on top! We used the lemon and milk substitute, let the dough rise for about 20 minutes and since we had the 12-muffin pan we cooked it for 10 minutes after the temperature was lowered. We canโ€™t wait to try another recipe from you! Thanks

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 05, 2019 at 5:22 pm

        I am so glad everyone enjoyed the muffins Stacy! They are a really great treat. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    4. Sara

      March 20, 2019 at 12:24 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve tried so many recipes for chocolate chip muffins, but these ones are the best! Originally, I was a little afraid seeing buttermilk, but I’d never seen the substitute before and that turned out great! I made them into mini muffins instead (a 24 count sheet). I kept them at 425 for the full 8 minutes and then dropped them down to 350 for only about 4-5 minutes and they turned out perfect.

      Thank you so much for the recipe! This is now my go-to for muffins ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 20, 2019 at 12:58 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins Sara! Thank you for the feedback on baking times in a mini muffin tray. I will have to try them that way. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    5. Karina

      March 20, 2019 at 10:28 am

      I baked as it is said in the recipe, for 12 pieces tin. After 8(425) and 8(350), the muffins are still uncooked inside. What did I do wrong?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 20, 2019 at 12:57 pm

        Hi Karina! I’m so sorry this has happened. Do you know if your oven temperature is accurate? It’s really weird that they would still be uncooked inside.

        Reply
    6. Beth A

      March 03, 2019 at 8:00 pm

      5 stars
      My brother complained that the only chocolate chip muffins he could buy were chocolate chocolate chip. โ€œWhy canโ€™t they sell vanilla chocolate chip?โ€ Well, I found this recipe plus a recipe for the muffin papers and baked them the next day. I brought these to him and not only did they look fabulous, but he said they were perfect, just what he wanted!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 03, 2019 at 8:07 pm

        ๐Ÿ˜‚ I am so glad he enjoyed them! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    7. Megan

      March 02, 2019 at 11:01 am

      5 stars
      My little girl wanted to make chocolate chip muffins with her occupational therapist..it’s very challenging for her to try to new things, textures are tricky, etc. I saw this recipe pop up and the pictures looked divine (despite not being a huge fan of chocolate chip muffins myself ). She enjoyed making them but struggled through the first couple of nibbles…and then she ate two more throughout the day…and asked for another! We made the batch into 12 smaller muffins and we made them yesterday morning (yummy breakfast!!) and there’s 1 left. These are the best muffins I have EVER had. And I’m more of a lemon poppyseed with frosting kind of girl. Nice werk lady.

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 02, 2019 at 5:09 pm

        I’m so thrilled to hear that they were such a success for her! Thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out, Megan, I appreciate you commenting!

        Reply
    8. BonnieHill

      February 28, 2019 at 5:34 pm

      What did I do wrong ? They fell !! I will try them again !!!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 05, 2019 at 10:53 pm

        O no I am so sorry! The most likely causes are the muffins were under-mixed or under-baked. I hope they turn out for you. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    9. Anusha J Krishnaswamy

      February 25, 2019 at 8:14 am

      Chocolate chip muffins are my absolute favorite kind of muffin.

      Reply
    10. Anusha J Krishnaswamy

      February 25, 2019 at 8:13 am

      Chocolate chip muffins are my absolute favorite kind of muffin and this recipe is very delicious.

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 25, 2019 at 11:17 am

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    11. Mandi

      February 24, 2019 at 6:13 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is great. I used browned butter the second time and it came out even better. Your efforts are appreciated.

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 24, 2019 at 8:27 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Mandi! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    12. Colleen

      February 24, 2019 at 12:02 pm

      Iโ€™m on the hunt for a delicious and beautiful muffin. This one did it. Thanks. I used a brown parchment liner, jumbo muffin tin, raw sugar for the top and mini chocolate chips. Perfection and instagram worthy. Haha! They did take about 12 minutes longer to bake than the recipe suggested but I did use my convection setting and wanted them a tad darker so no big deal. Very happy. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 24, 2019 at 8:53 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Colleen! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    13. Daphne

      February 24, 2019 at 7:44 am

      5 stars
      Love. Love. Love. I have been making these muffins for awhile now and they turn out fantastic every single time. I give them to family and friends and they always ask how I made them. They love them as much as I do. And my kids think I am a pretty good baker. Truly they really are better than any chocolate chip muffin you could buy in the store. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I am about to make some more right now lol.

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 24, 2019 at 8:53 pm

        Thank you so much, Daphne! I am so glad you enjoy the muffins! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    14. Kathy Davis

      February 22, 2019 at 5:08 pm

      5 stars
      I made these yesterday………………Easy recipe.
      I bake a lot!!!!

      THE BOMB!!!!!!!!

      This will be theonly recipe I will use ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 23, 2019 at 10:22 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins, Kathy! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    15. Nicole

      February 14, 2019 at 5:08 pm

      5 stars
      These really are the BEST chocolate chip muffins Iโ€™ve made (and I bake a lot). They are as soft and fluffy and moist as you promise! Using regular granulated sugar didnโ€™t really work on the top of the muffins but I bought Demerara sugar that Iโ€™ll try next time I make them (and I will make them again!!)

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 15, 2019 at 9:27 am

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Nicole! Thank you for commenting 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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