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.
Veena
Hi! Would almond milk work? My husband is allergic to dairy.
Sam
I haven’t tried it but I think that would work, the muffins may not be as moist though. If you try it would you let me know how they turn out? I’ve just had to go dairy-free myself because my baby is having a reaction and I’m starting to experiment with almond milk in baking more myself!
Roger
I made these muffins a few days ago and everyone at home really liked them. This recipe is excellent, but I do believe that 1 teaspoon of cinnamon is too much. 1/2 teaspoon is plenty and 1 cup of sugar is a too much too, 1/2 cup is enough. The chocolate chips make them sweet, I like to add extra chocolate chips and that makes the muffins plenty sweet already.
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins, Roger! 😊
Jon
Hi,
These were awesome! How do you keep the chocolate chips from falling to the bottom.
Thank you.
Sam
Hi Jon! The batter is thick enough that they won’t fall to the bottom, no need to do anything other than what’s written in the recipe 🙂
Hollie
Hi can you use self raising flour instead of normal flour?
Sam
Hi Hollie! I don’t recommend it. It would require altering other ingredients in the recipe. These have a great amount of rise without self rising flour. 🙂
Katie
WOW! Thought I had a good jumbo muffin recipe but it in no way compares to this. These muffins were perfect – great flavor, texture, everything. I highly recommend getting some coarse sugar for the top because it really does make a difference! Already wrote this one down so I can make it regularly. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Katie! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Ashley Davidson
I made these today and they turned out awesome! I didn’t have a jumbo muffin tin so I used my regular sized ones. Did the 8 minutes at 425.
Baked at 350 for exactly 8 minutes. ( I started at 6 and increased from there) They turned out perfect! 😃
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for sharing what worked for you, Ashley. I am so glad that you enjoyed them and they turned out perfectly. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Liz
Hello! I realised I do not have corn starch at home, can I substitute corn starch with potato/tapioca starch instead? Thank you for your recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Liz! I have not tried using those as a substitute but based on what I have read, they should work fine if the proper amount is substituted. Keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
Amy
Favorite muffin recipe EVER! I’ve made these 5 times and everyone in my house raves about them. Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
Sam
Thank you so much, Amy! I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins. 🙂
Deonza
I tied this a 1am lol and they truned out pretty good. My sibling enjoyed them!!! 😁
Sam
Never a bad time of day (or night) to make muffins! So glad everyone enjoyed, Deonza! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting!
Pam
My 14 year old son asked if I was going to the store..I replied why? He said he wanted chocolate chip muffins. Since we are on lock down, why not teach him how to make his own muffins. I searched for a good recipe and found this one. I have all ingredients ready except buttermilk but used your recipe to make it. I will come back and let you know how they turned out.
Sugar Spun Run
I love that the two of you used this time and made this recipe together, Pam. I hope that he enjoys them! 🙂
Pam
These came out great…my son loved them. We forgot to sprinkle the sugar on top but they still are yummy! So glad I found your site. Going to try the home made bread and biscuits next! Thank you for sharing!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your son loved them, Pam! I am excited to see what recipe you try next! 🙂
Chrissy Lenk
This recipe was great! I had to make the buttermilk and do the unsalted butter trick because I had neither of those ingredients and it turned out really well! I don’t have a large muffin tin, so I did the smaller 12 and the total time was about 20 minutes. Thanks for adding information for those substitutes 🙂
I will make the Nutella ones next!
Kelly
Can coconut oil be used instead of canola? Thanks!
Sam
I personally haven’t tried it but I think that should be fine. Enjoy!
Lauren
I’m excited to try this recipe for the first time today! I don’t have any cornstarch, but I do have both arrowroot powder and tapioca. Would you recommend using either of those to substitute the cornstarch, and if so, how much? Thanks!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Lauren! Cornstarch helps breakdown the harshness of the flour and makes for a soft muffin. I have not tried arrowroot powder or tapioca personally so I can not provide you with any personal recommendations. Looking back through all the comments, someone has tried substituting using arrowroot powder and just doubled it. I hope that you have the same success. Keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
Kim Goldstein
Hi Sam! I love each and every one of your recipes that I’ve tried. Question for you. Since we are on lockdown right now, I’m making do with what I have. No buttermilk, no milk. Will reconstituted evaporated milk sour with lemon juice or vinegar like regular milk does??
Sam
I’m so glad you have been enjoying the recipes, Kim! I think that substitute should work just fine for this recipe 🙂
Ahmed
By lemon juice, do you mean juiced lemons or the storebought stuff for the buttermilk substitute?
Sam
Either one works perfectly 🙂
Ellee
Hi Sam, If I don’t have regular vinegar to make the buttermilk substitute, could I use apple cider vinegar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Elle! That will be fine. You can also use lemon juice. Here is a link to my buttermilk substitute recipe. 🙂
Ellee
Alright, thank you! And I would use lemon juice but I don’t have any of that either haha 🙁