Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you’ve ever walked into a bakery and been tempted by those giant muffins with sky-high tops and chocolate chips in every bite, these Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins are for you. They’re soft, buttery, packed with mini chocolate chips, and bake up with those beautiful domed tops you’d expect from your favorite bakery.
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Why You’ll Love This
After making muffins for years, I’ve learned that a few simple techniques make all the difference. I’ve learned a few simple techniques that make all the difference. Resting the batter, starting with a hot oven, and using melted butter instead of oil all help create tender, moist muffins.
These chocolate chip muffins have become one of our favorite weekend treats because they’re easy enough for any morning but special enough to feel like something you’d pick up from the bakery.
- Beautiful tall bakery-style muffin tops.
- Soft, buttery crumb that’s moist without being greasy.
- Mini chocolate chips give you chocolate in every bite.
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack.
Looking for more breakfast recipes? Try our Ham and Cheese Strata, Biscuits And Gravy Breakfast Casserole, Fluffy Banana Pancakes (Easy Buttermilk Recipe from Scratch), Mixed Berry Muffins, and Double Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose Flour – Gives the muffins their structure.
- Baking Powder – Helps create tall, fluffy muffins.
- Kosher Salt – Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor.
- Unsalted Butter – Melted butter adds rich flavor and a tender crumb.
- Granulated Sugar – Sweetens the muffins while helping create golden tops.
- Eggs – Provide structure and richness.
- Buttermilk – Keeps the muffins moist and tender while adding a subtle tang that balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds warm, classic bakery flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Smaller chips distribute throughout the batter so every bite has chocolate.
Why These Muffins Rise So High
Three simple techniques give these muffins their bakery-style tops. Resting the batter for 10 to 15 minutes gives the flour time to hydrate, creating a thicker batter that rises higher. Starting the bake at a higher temperature gives the muffins a quick burst of oven spring before lowering the temperature to finish baking the centers. Finally, filling the muffin cups nearly full encourages those beautiful domed tops you expect from a bakery.
How to Make Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or lightly grease the cups.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until they’re thick and pale, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the melted and cooled butter until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until smooth and combined.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips to the wet ingredients and fold just until combined. A few small streaks of flour are fine. Let the batter rest in the bowl for 10-15 minutes.
Pro Tip
Resting the muffin batter allows the starches in the flour additional time to absorb the liquids, causing them to swell. This results in a sturdier batter that bakes into taller muffin tops with rounded bakery-style tops.
Step 4: Divide the batter equally into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with additional chocolate chips. Bake for 5 minutes at 425ºF, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips
- Melt the butter in the microwave using the popcorn function. Watch closely and remove it when just melted. In my microwave, it usually melts at 1 min 10 sec remaining. It’s not too hot and will cool quickly for use.
- Use room temperature eggs and buttermilk.
- Adding the chocolate chips on top of the dry ingredients helps to coat them with flour and keep them from sinking in the muffin while baking.
- Don’t overmix the batter or the muffins can become tough.
- Resting the batter for 10 to 15 minutes gives the flour time to hydrate and helps produce taller, bakery-style domes.
- Fill the muffin cups generously for bakery-style tops.
- Sprinkle a few extra mini chocolate chips on top before baking for a bakery-style finish.
- Don’t overbake; butter-based muffins can dry out faster than oil-based ones, so pull them as soon as a toothpick comes out clean.
Storage
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, freeze them in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm one in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
FAQs
The combination of resting the batter, filling the muffin cups nearly full, and starting the bake at 425°F gives the muffins a quick burst of oven spring before finishing at a lower temperature.
Buttermilk adds a slight tang and helps create a softer, more tender crumb. It also reacts with the baking powder to give the muffins a better rise. You can make buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring cup. Then fill it to the cup line with milk and let it stand for 5-10 minutes.
Yes, but mini chocolate chips distribute more evenly throughout the batter, so you get chocolate in almost every bite. Regular semi-sweet chocolate chips work just fine if that’s what you have.
Measure the flour correctly, don’t overmix the batter, and remove the muffins from the oven as soon as a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Yes, bake at 375ºF for 10-13 minutes. Start testing with a toothpick around 10 minutes, so they do not dry out.
Yes. Divide the standard 12-muffin batter into 6 large portions. Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 375°F for 20 to 25 more minutes. Start testing with a toothpick around 20 minutes, so they do not dry out.
More Muffin Recipes
Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour (measured properly)
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 1 cup Buttermilk room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups Mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick baking spray or line with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until they’re thick and pale, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the melted and cooled butter until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until smooth and combined.2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour, 1 tbsp Baking powder, 1 tsp Kosher salt, 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 large Eggs, 1 cup Buttermilk, 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients and then the chocolate chips to the wet ingredients and fold just until combined. A few small streaks of flour are fine. Let the batter rest in the bowl for 10-15 minutes.1 1/4 cups Mini chocolate chips
- Divide the batter equally into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with additional chocolate chips. Bake for 5 minutes at 425ºF, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use room temperature eggs and buttermilk so the batter mixes together smoothly.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until the flour disappears.
- Fill the muffin liners almost to the top for that classic bakery look.