Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Is there anything better than a muffin still warm from the oven? Whether it's something healthy like my banana mini muffins, or something with a chocolate kick like these bakery style chocolate chip muffins, I am always happy to whip up a batch of muffins for the week ahead.

When I first tested out my lemon curd muffin recipe, I knew I had to reuse the muffin base recipe as I just thought it was too good. Slightly crispy and crunchy muffin exterior with a soft muffin center - perfect!

I made these muffins with mini chocolate chips, though you can definitely use regular chocolate chips too! Why mini? First off, they're cute - come on, look at them! Secondly, I feel like you get a better ratio of muffin to chocolate if you have mini chips instead of regular sized chips. But use whatever chocolate chips you have on hand!

Why you'll love this recipe

• This is made in 1 bowl and no mixer required! I love not having to drag out my stand mixer so this is a win for me.
• This recipe makes 12 muffins, so it's perfect to whip up for a crowd or a family gathering.
• This bakery style chocolate chip muffin recipe uses simple pantry ingredients. I bet you already have everything you need in your fridge and pantry!
• You get a crunchy muffin top but a soft and fluffy muffin center.
• The mini chocolate chips mean you get chocolate in every bite!

Ingredients Needed

• Yogurt: I'm using full fat yogurt here, this is going to make your chocolate chip muffins super moist. No dry muffins here!
• Flour: I've only tested this recipe with all purpose flour.
• Vanilla Bean Paste: since we're using simple ingredients here, I wanted to bump it up a notch with some vanilla bean paste!
• Leaveners: baking soda and baking powder are going to give these muffins a rise. Make sure your baking powder and baking soda haven't expired!
• Chocolate Chips: I'm using mini chocolate morsels, but you can use regular chocolate chips.

Variations & Substitutions

• Swap out yogurt for sour cream or buttermilk.
• I'm using semisweet chocolate chips here but you can use dark chocolate or white chocolate chips. Or try peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips!
• You can use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste if you don't have it on hand.
• Sprinkle over some sparkling sugar on top of each muffin top before baking to get sparkling muffin tops!
• Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg to make these lightly spiced!

Step by Step Instruction

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375°Fahrenheit/190°Celsius. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter with the egg, sugar, yogurt and vanilla bean paste until smooth.

Step 2: Add all of the dry ingredients - so the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Use a rubber spatula to combine everything, making sure to stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients are combined with the wet ingredients. Stir in the mini chocolate chips (but keep a small handful to the side!).

Step 3: Line a muffin pan with liners or spray with cooking spray. Use an ice cream scooper or cookie scoop to scoop out the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan. You want to fill each one until almost the top! Sprinkle over the reserved chocolate chips.

Step 4: Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes. The muffins will be a deep golden brown. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Expert Tips & Tricks

• I always recommend weighing out your ingredients using a weighing scale. Not only does it mean less dishes for you, but it is the most accurate way to bake! It is so easy to add too much flour, giving you dry and stodgy muffins.
• Keep a small handful of chocolate chips to the side and use them to sprinkle on top of each unbaked muffin just before baking.
• Stop mixing the muffin batter as soon as there are no more streaks of flour. You don't want to overmix the muffin batter!
• Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before you start the recipe. It is going to be so much easier to incorporate all the wet ingredients together if they're all at room temperature.
• Sprinkle over some sparkling sugar or coarse sugar on top of the muffins to get a sparkly muffin top.

Frequently Asked Questions