These bakery-style chocolate chip muffins bake up tall and fluffy with a mega moist, tender crumb. I use vegetable oil for plenty of moisture and full-fat sour cream to give the muffins extra richness without weighing them down. They're loaded with chocolate chips, so you get plenty of chocolate in every bite. This recipe makes 12 standard muffins, but I've also included instructions for making 8 jumbo muffins if you prefer!
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Why these muffins stay so moist
This is my go-to chocolate chip muffins recipe, and moisture is the whole point. Three things do the heavy lifting:
- Vegetable oil, not butter. Oil stays liquid at room temp, so the muffins are still soft on day two. Butter muffins firm up.
- Full-fat sour cream. This is my pick. It adds richness and tang without making the crumb heavy. I tested with milk only and they were just eh.
- Brown sugar. It holds onto moisture better than white sugar, and you get a little caramel flavor too.
Sour cream or Greek yogurt? Sour cream is my first choice. It's what I developed the recipe with, and I prefer it because of the softer crumb and richer flavor. Full-fat plain Greek yogurt works as a 1:1 swap in a pinch. Just skip the low-fat stuff in either case.
How to get that tall bakery-style dome
The trick: start hot, then drop the heat. Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350ºF without opening the door. That first blast of heat makes the batter rise fast and set on top before the middle catches up, which is how you get a tall, domed muffin top instead of a flat one.
A few more things that help:
- Press extra chocolate on top before baking so the domes look like they came from a bakery case.
- Don't overmix. Fold the flour in until you just stop seeing dry streaks. Lumps are fine.
- Chop a chocolate bar. Chips work, but a chopped semi-sweet baking bar gives you big melty puddles on top. I've tested this recipe with chocolate chips as well. They works, however, chocolate chips have stabilizers in them to retain their shape when baked, so you won't get those same big pools of melty chocolate.
Standard or jumbo muffins?
The recipe makes 12 standard muffins. That's what the recipe card and nutrition info are based on.
Want the big ones? Use a jumbo muffin pan and you'll get about 8 jumbo muffins. Same batter, same 5 minutes at 425ºF, just a longer bake at 350ºF (20–22 minutes instead of 15). The muffins in my photos are the jumbo version.
My biggest tips for baking jumbo muffins: fill the muffin cups almost to the top, leaving a bit of room for added chopped chocolate. And, rotate the pans front to back and top to bottom racks if you're baking multiple pans at a time to get evenly baked muffins.
A few ways to switch them up
Freezing: wrap cooled muffins one by one, bag them, and freeze up to 3 months. Warm at 350ºF for 8–10 minutes.
Chocolate cherry: cut the chocolate in half and fold in quartered fresh or frozen (not thawed) cherries.
White chocolate: swap some or all of the chocolate for a chopped white chocolate baking bar. White chips don't melt well here.
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Looking for more muffin recipes? Give these a try:
FOR ALL MY FAVORITE BAKING TOOLS INCLUDING THOSE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE, CHECK OUT MY BAKING RESOURCES PAGE!
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream , or plain Greek yogurt
Mix-ins
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, chopped , or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Line two jumbo muffin pans (or a standard 12-cup muffin tin) with silicone cupcake liners or paper cupcake liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a separate large bowl, mix together with a wooden spoon the vegetable oil, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, milk and sour cream until well incorporated. ⅓ cup vegetable oil⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, ½ cup whole milk, ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- Gently fold in the dry ingredient mixture until no dry spots of flour are left.
- Gently fold in chocolate chips. 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, chopped1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
- Fill each cup of muffin tin about ⅔ of the way with muffin batter.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425ºF, then lower the oven temperature down to 350ºF for another 15 minutes for standard muffins and another 20-22 minutes for jumbo muffins, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the center muffin comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in muffin tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition information is based on 12 standard sized muffins.
- The muffins pictured were made using jumbo sized muffin tin. If using a jumbo size muffin pan, the recipe yields about 8 muffins.
- To store: Place cooled muffins in an airtight container or ziploc bag at room temperature for 2-3 days. Store in the fridge for up to one week. Microwave for 20 seconds at 50% power to rewarm, toast, or warm in the oven at 350ºF for 8–10 minutes.
- To freeze: wrap each individual muffin in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Store the wrapped muffins in an airtight storage container or resealable bag, removing as much air as possible. Be sure to use a large enough container. Muffins will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature then warm in the microwave for 20 seconds at 50% power, toast, or warm in the oven at 350ºF for 8–10 minutes.
Nutrition
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Comments
Sapna says
Hi,
Could you please help or guide with the measurements by weighing scale for this recipe!!
Kimberlee Ho says
Yes! The Metric measurements are enabled on the recipe. If you look underneath where it says "Servings, Calories," etc and just above where it says "Equipment" you'll see an option for selecting to view the measurements in metric units. Click that and it'll show you the weights.
Eleanor says
Hi! What muffin pan liners did you use?
Kimberlee Ho says
Hi Eleanor, here is a link to the ones I use in this recipe: https://amzn.to/3Qzu4kL. They're called Tulip muffin liners.