Double chocolate chip muffins are rich, soft, moist, and tender chocolate muffins filled with plenty of chocolate chips. They have a bakery-style texture, a deep chocolate flavor, and a fluffy crumb that makes them perfect for a special breakfast, brunch, lunchbox treat, or afternoon snack.
Why Should You Make This Recipe
If you love bakery-style muffins, these double chocolate chip muffins are a recipe worth keeping. They are easy to prepare with simple pantry ingredients, yet they bake up with tall tops, a soft center, and chocolate chips in every bite. The combination of cocoa powder, chocolate chips, buttermilk, sour cream, and a little espresso powder creates a deeply chocolatey muffin without making the batter complicated.
- Easy to make, bake, and enjoy. You only need a couple of mixing bowls, a whisk, and a muffin pan. The batter comes together quickly by hand, so there is no need for a mixer.
- Perfect for breakfast and snacking. These chocolate muffins are a delicious choice for busy mornings, brunch, after-school snacks, or anytime you want a soft homemade treat.
- Chocolate for breakfast feels special. These muffins taste decadent enough to feel like dessert, but they are still simple enough to serve as a breakfast muffin or casual snack.
- Bakery-style texture at home. Resting the batter and starting the muffins at a higher oven temperature helps create those beautiful domed tops and a tender crumb.
Ingredients
These chocolate chocolate chip muffins are made with a short list of familiar baking ingredients. Each ingredient helps build a moist, fluffy muffin with rich chocolate flavor.
- Dry Ingredients: You will need all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, espresso powder, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips.
Substitutions
These moist double chocolate chip muffins are flexible, and a few simple swaps can work well if you need to adjust the recipe.
- All purpose flour: To make these muffins gluten free, use a good 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend. For the best results, measure by weight and use 240 g rather than measuring cup for cup.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Make sure both are fresh and not expired. Fresh leavening helps the muffins rise properly and gives them a lighter texture.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Regular unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder can be used. Dutch process cocoa gives a smooth, fuller chocolate flavor.
- Oil: Any neutral-tasting oil works well, including vegetable, canola, avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil. You can also use ½ cup (113 g) melted and slightly cooled butter, but muffins made with butter may not stay as moist after a day or two.
- Light brown sugar and granulated sugar: This recipe uses both sugars for flavor, sweetness, and moisture. Maple sugar can also be used if you want a refined sugar free option.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Buttermilk: Full fat buttermilk gives the best flavor and texture. Regular full fat milk can be used if needed.
- Sour cream: Use an equal amount of full fat Greek yogurt, or replace it with an equal amount of buttermilk.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds a warm background flavor that pairs beautifully with chocolate.
- Instant espresso powder: Espresso powder is optional, but it helps deepen and enhance the chocolate flavor without making the muffins taste like coffee.
- Chocolate chips: Use mini chocolate chips, regular chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks. Mini chocolate chips are especially good because they spread evenly through the batter.
Variation
Mini Double Chocolate Chip Muffins: Prepare the muffin batter as directed. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) and lightly grease a 24-count mini muffin pan. Use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to portion the batter into the mini muffin wells. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, or until the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the mini muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove and enjoy.
How To Make
Follow these simple steps to make soft, fluffy, bakery-style double chocolate chip muffins at home.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C). Line two 12-count muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until the dry ingredients are evenly combined. Add the light brown sugar and granulated sugar, then whisk again to break up any clumps.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the oil, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Combine the batter. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in thirds. Before adding the final third of the dry mixture, toss the chocolate chips into it. This helps the chocolate chips distribute evenly throughout the batter. Fold everything together gently until just combined. Do not overmix; a few small streaks are fine.
- Rest the batter. Cover the muffin batter and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 – 60 minutes. This step is recommended for bakery-style muffins because it helps the batter hydrate, thicken, and bake with taller domed tops.
5. Fill and bake. For bakery-style muffins, alternate filled and unfilled muffin wells so each muffin has more space for heat to circulate. Use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the fudgy muffin batter into the liners, filling every other cup. Top with the reserved chocolate chips or a little granulated sugar if desired. Bake at 425 F (218 C) for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 F (177 C) and bake for another 12 – 14 minutes. The total baking time should be about 17 – 21 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, or when the tops spring back quickly when gently pressed. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 – 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a rack to cool.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Prepare the muffin batter through the resting stage. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill the batter in the refrigerator for up to overnight.
- Store: Place the cooled double chocolate chip muffins in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Cool the muffins completely to room temperature. Wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, then place the wrapped muffins in a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Let frozen muffins sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Enjoy them at room temperature, or microwave a muffin for 20 – 30 seconds for a warm, freshly baked texture.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. Room temperature eggs, buttermilk, and sour cream blend more easily into the batter. This means less mixing, which helps keep the muffins soft, fluffy, and moist.
- Toss the chocolate chips in the dry ingredients. Add most of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture first. Toss the chocolate chips into the final third of the dry ingredients before folding everything together. This helps the chocolate chips spread more evenly through the batter.
- Don’t overmix the muffin batter. Mix by hand and stop as soon as the batter comes together. Overmixing can make muffins dense instead of tender.
- Rest the batter for 30 – 60 minutes. Resting gives the flour time to hydrate and helps the batter thicken. This simple step encourages taller, bakery-style muffin tops.
- Alternate muffin wells in the pan. Filling every other muffin well gives each muffin more room for heat to circulate. The tops will still rise if you fill every liner, but alternating the wells can help create higher domes.
- Use mini chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips distribute beautifully through the chocolate muffin batter, giving you chocolate in every bite.
FAQs
Resting muffin batter for at least 30 – 60 minutes helps create soft, fluffy muffins with taller domed tops. Resting the batter overnight can work even better.
Moist muffins come from using full fat, room temperature ingredients like buttermilk and sour cream, mixing the batter only until combined, resting the batter before baking, and avoiding overbaking.
For bakery-style muffins, rest the batter for at least 30 minutes, start baking at a higher oven temperature, and alternate filled and unfilled muffin wells to help the tops rise higher.
Other Chocolate Breakfast Recipes To Try
- Chocolate Waffles
- Chocolate Bread Pudding
- Chocolate Chip Waffles
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
If you try this Double Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe, leave a rating and a comment to help other readers decide whether to bake it. Happy baking!
Double Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
Megan
Equipment
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2 mixing bowls
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1 – 2 12-count nonstick muffin pans
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12 cupcake liners
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1 large cookie scoop, 3 tablespoon or 45 ml, optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) oil (vegetable, canola, avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil)
- ¾ cup (180 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1½ cups mini or regular chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, divided
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C) for at least 30 minutes before baking. Line two 12-count muffin pans with cupcake liners.
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In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined, then whisk in the granulated sugar and light brown sugar.
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In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the oil, buttermilk, sour cream, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and evenly combined.
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Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in thirds. Before adding the final third, toss 1 – 1¼ cups of the chocolate chips into the remaining dry ingredients, then fold everything into the batter. Mix only until just combined.
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Cover the batter and rest it in the refrigerator for 30 – 60 minutes for bakery-style muffin tops.
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For bakery-style muffins, fill every other muffin well. Scoop the batter into the liners using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. Top with the reserved ¼ cup chocolate chips or a sprinkle of granulated sugar, if desired.
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Bake at 425 F (218 C) for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F (177 C) and continue baking for 12 – 14 minutes, for a total baking time of 17 – 21 minutes.
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The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, or when the tops spring back quickly when gently pressed.
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Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 – 10 minutes. Carefully remove them and let them cool to room temperature before serving.
Notes
For mini muffins, see the variation section above.