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These bakery-style Chocolate Muffins are loaded with chocolate chips for a gooey, fudgy breakfast treat or a sweet afternoon snack. Made from scratch with cocoa powder and chocolate chips, the easy chocolate chip muffin recipe comes together in about 10 minutes. Don’t miss all of the tips and tricks for perfectly raised muffin tops and soft, fluffy insides!
Gooey Chocolate Muffins
Instead of dry, crumbly pastries, sink your teeth into these moist and gooey chocolate muffins! Served warm, the melty chocolate chips add a delicious fudgy taste and texture to the double chocolate muffins. Garnish the tops with coarse sugar and extra chocolate chips, and you’ve got a decadent bakery-style treat in the comfort of your own home. Perfect with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee!
What is the difference between chocolate muffins and cupcakes?
While they might taste similar, chocolate muffins are different from cupcakes in a couple of ways. First, cupcakes are made by creaming together butter and sugar to yield a smooth, light, fluffy batter. Muffins, by contrast, are whisked and stirred together by hand, which creates a slightly lumpy batter and a more dense finished product. Cupcakes typically get a nice, thick slathering of frosting on top as well, while the muffins do not. I like to finish my big, rounded muffin tops with coarse sugar and an extra sprinkle of chocolate chips for a special touch.
How to Make Tall Muffin Tops
There are a few key steps to creating that nice, high dome on the muffin top:
- Use a thick batter (you’ve got that here!)
- Fill the muffin cups to the top (I like to use an ice cream scoop, large cookie dough scoop, or 2 1/4-inch dough scoop like this to equally measure the same amount of batter into each cup)
- Sour cream is acidic, and therefore reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise even higher.
How to Make Chocolate Muffins from Scratch
My boys love a box of store-bought chocolate muffin mix, so I took it upon myself to surprise them with an even better made-from-scratch version of their favorite morning treat. No boxed mix can compare to warm, freshly-baked homemade chocolate chip muffins!
Ingredients for Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Chocolate chips
- Coarse sugar
Chocolate Muffins with Cocoa Powder
These double chocolate muffins get their rich flavor from unsweetened cocoa powder in the batter. I use Hershey’s brand, but any similar variety will work. Plenty of warm, melty chocolate chips create ooey gooey chocolate muffins straight from the oven! My kids prefer milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips. Sprinkle extra on top for a truly decadent bite!
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups.
- Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 18-20 minutes.
How to Serve Easy Chocolate Muffins
Offer the muffins for a quick grab-and-go breakfast on busy mornings (just pull one from the freezer and reheat it in seconds); pile some in a basket as a part of a special brunch buffet; set out a few with a glass of milk for an afternoon snack; or even enjoy them for a sweet dessert at the end of a long day.
Chocolate muffins are delicious at room temperature, or even better when served warm. They’re best with a smear of soft butter or a dollop of peanut butter!
Storage
Allow the muffins to cool completely. Store in a large Ziploc freezer bag or other airtight container. The muffins will last for 2-3 days at room temperature, or you can freeze the muffins for up to 3 months.
To Reheat
For fudgy chocolate muffins, enjoy these warm! If the muffins are frozen, allow them to sit on the counter for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Frozen muffins will require about 10-12 minutes in the oven; room temperature muffins will only need about 5 minutes to warm through. Alternatively, you can microwave one muffin at a time for 15-30 seconds or just until warm.
Recipe Variations
- The sour cream adds moisture and richness to the muffin batter, and creates a tender crumb. The acid in the sour cream also reacts with the baking soda to give the muffin tops a mile-high rise. If you prefer, you can substitute with 8 ounces of Greek yogurt — just make sure that you’re using a full-fat yogurt for best results.
- Try different types of chocolate chips — or a combination. For instance, use ½ cup of white chocolate chips and ½ cup of dark chocolate chips for Triple Chocolate Muffins!
- Instead of adding coarse sugar and chocolate chips on top, try dusting the muffins with powdered sugar once they’re cool.
- This recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins. You can bake the batter in jumbo muffin tins for giant bakery-size treats. You’ll need to increase the total baking time to 30-35 minutes for the jumbo muffins. Similarly, you can bake the batter in mini muffin tins. The mini muffins will bake much faster, so they will only need a total of about 12-15 minutes in the oven.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Muffin Recipe
- Use full-fat sour cream for a rich, moist muffin.
- The key to a perfect muffin is just barely mixing the ingredients. You want them to come together, but a few lumps are fine. This way they’ll stay moist and tender!
- Garnish the tops of the muffins with extra chocolate chips and coarse sugar for a crispy topping that’s a nice contrast to the moist, fluffy interior. I like to use this Wilton sugar, but any similar brand will work. It’s a great topping for any muffins or scones!
- To check if the muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
More Muffin Recipes to Try
- Corn Muffins
- Easy Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Old-Fashioned Cranberry Muffins
- Bran Muffins
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Muffins
Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Garnish: additional chocolate chips; coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs, whisk to combine. Add sour cream, whisk until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, combine just until incorporated – do not over-mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips and coarse sugar on top.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use full-fat sour cream for a rich, moist muffin.
- The key to a perfect muffin is just barely mixing the ingredients. You want them to come together, but a few lumps are fine. This way they’ll stay moist and tender!
- Garnish the tops of the muffins with extra chocolate chips and coarse sugar for a crispy topping that’s a nice contrast to the moist, fluffy interior. I like to use this Wilton sugar, but any similar brand will work. It’s a great topping for any muffins or scones!
- To check if the muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
