Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

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These Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins are beautifully domed and fluffy, with a crunchy sugar topping. Check out all my tips to make the perfect muffins.

Straight on view of a cooling rack with Chocolate Chip Muffins on a white surface with a light blue background.

Ingredient Notes

Buttermilk: Feel free to substitute with regular milk mixed with white vinegar. See recipe notes for details.
Chocolate chips: You can use semi-sweet, bittersweet, white or milk chocolate.
Sour cream: Substitute with full-fat, plain yogurt for a similar result.

Step by Step Process

Always preheat your oven first. Then prepare your pan with muffin liners.

Sift together the dry ingredients (1). Add a couple spoonfuls of dry ingredients to a bowl with the chocolate chips. Toss to coat (2).

In another bowl or stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3). Add eggs one at a time (4).

First 4 steps to make chocolate chip muffins including sifting dry ingredients, coating chocolate chips in flour, and whisking sugar, butter and eggs.

Incorporate vanilla and sour cream (5). Add flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter in 2-3 additions each, alternating (6).

Fold in chocolate chips (7). Scoop batter into muffin tin (8) and bake as directed. Cool on a wire rack.

Last 4 steps to make chocolate chip muffins including, mixing all wet ingredients, adding dry ingredients and chocolate chip and scooping batter into baking tin.

Overhead view of Chocolate Chip Muffins on a cooling rack on a marble surface.

Recipe Tips and FAQs

Start with a hot oven. I bake these for 5-8 minutes at 425F before lowering the temperature to 375F. The initial blast of heat helps the muffins rise and get the perfect domed shape.
Don’t overmix. Make sure not to overmix the batter after combining the wet and dry ingredients. If too much gluten forms, the muffins will become tough and dense.
Sift. Sifting the dry ingredients helps to aerate the ingredients, for a lighter texture. Make sure to whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly for even baking powder and salt disbursement.
Whip butter and eggs right. It’s important to take your time to whisk together the butter and sugar until it’s very light and fluffy. You should also thoroughly whip in the eggs to help incorporate air and make light muffins.
Substitute any mix-ins you like: different types of chocolate, nuts, dried fruit and/or citrus zest.

Are muffins better with oil or butter?

Oil will create a more moist, sometimes greasy muffin, while butter will create a lighter, fluffier muffin with better flavor. For extra moisture with butter-based muffins, I like to add buttermilk and/or sour cream.

Why aren’t my muffins fluffy?

There are a number of reasons your muffins might not be fluffy. First, make sure your leaveners aren’t expired. It’s also important to incorporate a sufficient amount of air into the batter when you beat butter, sugar and eggs together. Start the oven at a higher temperature to create a higher rise, and make sure not to open the oven door, especially in the beginning stages, which can cause muffins to sink.

Close up, straight on view of a muffin with chocolate chips on a white surface with a light blue background.

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