About This Recipe

Chocolate chip muffins are the indulgent sibling of the blueberry muffin, their chocolate chips providing a richness and visual appeal that makes them as popular with children as with adults. The combination of a tender, lightly sweetened vanilla sponge with pockets of dark chocolate throughout is one of the most universally appealing flavour profiles in baking, and the muffin format delivers it in a portion that feels genuinely satisfying.

The chocolate chip selection matters more than most people expect. Mini chocolate chips distribute more evenly through the batter and ensure chocolate in every bite. Standard chips provide larger, more dramatic pools of chocolate that are visible on the surface and create more intense chocolate moments when bitten into. A mixture of both, with standard chips folded into the batter and mini chips reserved for pressing into the tops of each muffin before baking, produces the best of both approaches and the most photogenic result.

Brown butter in place of standard melted butter or oil elevates these muffins from good to genuinely memorable. The nutty, caramel-like flavour compounds produced when butter is cooked until the milk solids brown pair extraordinarily well with dark chocolate, amplifying the chocolate flavour and adding a complexity that vanilla alone cannot provide. It adds five minutes to the preparation and produces a noticeably better result.

History and Origins

Chocolate chip muffins developed from the American muffin tradition of the 20th century, drawing on the success of the chocolate chip cookie, invented in 1938, as inspiration for incorporating chocolate chips into other baked goods. They became a standard offering in American bakeries and coffee shops from the 1970s onwards and are now among the most consistently popular muffin flavours internationally.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe by By butter u0026 berriesCourse: Cupcakes

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

12

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories

3120

kcal

Ingredients

• •t300g plain flour

• •t200g white sugar

• •t2 tsp baking powder

• •t0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• •t0.5 tsp salt

• •t2 large eggs

• •t120ml melted butter or brown butter

• •t180ml buttermilk

• •t1.5 tsp vanilla extract

• •t250g chocolate chips divided

Directions

• Preheat oven to 220C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin.
• Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
• Whisk eggs, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla together.
• Fold wet into dry until just combined.
• Fold in 200g of the chocolate chips.
• Divide between cases filling three quarters full.
• Press remaining chips onto the tops of each muffin.
• Bake at 220C for 5 minutes then reduce to 190C for 15 minutes until golden.
• Cool 5 minutes in tin then transfer to rack.

Notes

• Brown butter adds significant flavour depth and is worth the extra 5 minutes. Cook butter in a light-coloured pan over medium heat, stirring, until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty. Cool for 5 minutes before adding to the batter.
  Reserve some chips for pressing onto the tops of the batter just before baking. Chips pressed on top create the bakery-style visual of visible chocolate on the dome surface and provide a slightly different eating experience from the chips inside.
  The high-low oven temperature technique produces the tall dome. Do not skip the initial blast of high heat. The 220C for the first 5 minutes is what lifts the dome before the batter sets around it.
  These muffins are excellent slightly warm when the chocolate chips are still soft and molten. Microwave a cold muffin for 15 seconds to restore this quality.
  Do not overmix the batter. Fold only until the flour disappears. A few chocolate chips may break during folding which is fine and produces streaks of chocolate through the batter.
  For an extra bakery touch sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt over the chocolate chips on top just before baking. The salt amplifies the chocolate flavour significantly.
  Sour cream can replace buttermilk for an even richer, slightly tangier muffin. The extra fat in sour cream produces a noticeably more tender crumb.

Make Ahead Tips

Keep at room temperature for 3 days. Microwave for 15 seconds to soften the chocolate before eating. Freeze for 3 months.

Storage and Serving

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The chocolate chips remain soft for the first day and firm slightly on subsequent days. Reheat briefly in a microwave to restore the soft chip texture. Freeze individually wrapped for up to 3 months.

Variations and Substitutions

Use white chocolate chips instead of dark for a sweeter, creamier version that is particularly popular with children. Mix dark and white chocolate chips in equal quantities for a visually interesting marbled appearance inside the muffin. Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the dry ingredients to intensify the chocolate flavour without producing a coffee taste. Add orange zest to the batter for a chocolate orange muffin that pairs beautifully with the dark chips. Stuff each muffin with a teaspoon of Nutella, peanut butter, or salted caramel before baking by filling the case halfway, adding the filling, then topping with more batter. Replace vanilla with almond extract for a marzipan-chocolate flavour combination. Make a double chocolate version by replacing 30g of the flour with cocoa powder and using both cocoa and chips for the most intensely chocolate result possible.

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