emmakitchen Oh, the classic post-holiday letdown. You know the one: Christmas is over and it’s time to turn off the holiday playlist, un-deck the halls, and delete all the Hallmark movies you had recorded. Everyone pretends they’re excited to move onto New Year’s, but in reality, we all just want to keep wrapping presents and sipping hot cocoa. Luckily, do I have a solution for you: the Best Chocolate Chip Muffins! These and a glass of milk will drown all your after-Christmas sorrows.
Plus, they can be festive! ☺︎
Picture-perfect, super simple, and absolutely delicious. What more could you want from a baked good?!
For real, though, the holiday blues have been hitting me hard this year. Maybe it’s just the extra family time I got this year making me sentimental, or the fact that it’s my last Christmas as a “kid” (17 is pushing it, but thinking legally here), but not gonna lie, I’ve been a bit gloomy lately. That’s okay, though. It brings to mind that cheesy Winnie the Pooh quote: “how lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”. So, in reality, the post-Xmas slump signifies a good thing.
inspiration for best chocolate chip muffins
A really, really good thing. Despite all the challenges of this year, my parents and I managed to pull off a great Christmas celebration. It was our first time spending the holidays with just the three of us, but I actually really enjoyed the chance to be present with each other the whole day (and no, I’m not talking about gifts!). We had a magical time watching movies and cooking homemade meals, and I went to bed that night feeling overwhelmingly loved and grateful for my family. What a sap, I know. But after Christmas, I really wanted to give my family that same feeling and show them how much they are appreciated.
So, I woke up extra early this morning to bake a batch of these Best Chocolate Chip Muffins for everyone to enjoy! I know, I could write the book on cooking as a love language. But they are… amazing. They’re my mom’s favorite recipe of mine, and I’ve found a lot of good ones over the years, so that’s saying something! But we all love them, and they’re pretty much a staple in our household, regarded as “THE chocolate chip muffins”.
Really, the ‘inspiration’ for this recipe doesn’t really come from the recipe itself, but more-so the reason I was inspired to make it today. It was from a place of unbridled love and gratefulness for my family. And okay, maybe I also wanted to eat a few muffins, but mainly, they were muffins made with love. <3
designing these muffins
Alright, I’ve got a dirty little secret to reveal here. The Best Chocolate Chip Muffins are pulled straight from AllRecipes. But to me, that’s almost the best part. I love that such a beloved family recipe came from the most basic, simple place. It highlights what truly matters in life: connecting with others, not the craziest methods or fanciest ingredients. Somehow, my family made the first Google result for “chocolate chip muffins” into a special thing, and I think that’s a wonderful testament to us. :))
However, there are some reasons that I’ve decided to keep this recipe exactly as it is. I’m a huge proponent of complicated recipes, so best believe I’ve tried fiddling with these muffins. I’ve added cinnamon. Extra chocolate. Even vanilla, which seems like a given, but nope. Nothing tastes as good as simplicity. These Best Chocolate Chip Muffins are perfect exactly as they are, so I implore you not to alter them in any way⏤ at least not your first batch. Just look at them. Why would you want to?!
They are so delicious. The high oil content gets the tops all crispy and golden-brown in the oven, and when that gives way to the soft, tender cake and melty chocolate chunks underneath, oh boy. Pair that with a heavy sprinkling of brown AND granulated sugar on top, and some extra semisweet chunks, and you’ve found God. These bakery-style muffins don’t even feel like a breakfast item, but luckily for all of us, society accepts them as one. So, go nuts.
Best yet, they’re incredibly simple. All you have to do is mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, and mix them together. It couldn’t be easier, and if you start now, you’ll have perfectly-textured muffins in less than 30 minutes! Let’s expand on that in the ingredients & technique.
ingredients & technique for best chocolate chip muffins
- Baking Powder: This recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of baking powder, which seems like a lot, but just follow the directions! It gives the muffins a nice rise and that airy, fluffy texture that we’ve fallen in love with. Mix it with the flour, salt, and chocolate, and bam: you’re halfway through the recipe. It really couldn’t be simpler.
- Vegetable Oil: I’ve made these muffins many, many times in the past with either vegetable or canola oil; great results every time. However, just this once, all I had on hand was grapeseed oil (a common trend in my recent posts!) so I used that instead. Don’t have to seek it out for this recipe, it makes no difference, but will certainly work if you have it!
- Milk: I always prepare this recipe with skim milk because that’s just what we use in everyday life. I’m sure they’d be great with a higher-fat milk, like whole milk, or a non-dairy milk, if you prefer. However, I’ve tried neither, so I can’t totally endorse it.
- Chocolate: Theee very most important part. Using semisweet chocolate chunks for these Best Chocolate Chip Muffins absolutely elevates it. The flat squares disperse through the baked muffin so well and provide thick pockets of pure chocolate. Yum. So, chocolate chunks make for the best possible muffin. However, many a time I’ve made these with the humble chips and it works just as well. As long as it’s semisweet, you can’t go wrong with your chocolate.
- Reserved sugars: The tops of these muffins require a dusting of both brown and granulated sugar. Trust me, it makes them that much more addicting and adds a delicious crunch. Hats off to whoever included that in the original recipe, it’s such a creative touch! I usually just grab pinches of sugar direct from the bag and sprinkle them over the muffins. If you wanted to measure it out, though, the original recipe calls for a mixture of 3 tablespoons white and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
- Bake: The Best Chocolate Chip Muffins need to be baked at 400°F for 20 minutes. The higher baking temperature gives them a delicious, crunchy exterior while leaving the inside crumb moist and cakey. It’s so well thought-out and tasty!
I think that covers everything! Here’s the process for making these.
process for best chocolate chip muffins
dry ingredients
Alright! Introducing the best chocolate chip muffin recipe ever. First, you’ll combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk this together thoroughly, then pour in the chocolate chips/chunks and toss them in the flour mixture. Doing this ensures that the chocolate won’t sink to the bottoms of the muffins and instead stays evenly suspended in the batter. So much better that way!
wet ingredients
Next, beat together the vegetable oil, egg, and milk of choice. I got this eerie green concoction because I chose to use grapeseed oil, but don’t worry! The color completely faded after the wet ingredients were mixed into the dry. For this step, make sure everything is thoroughly combined; if you have any chunks of un-whisked egg, it’ll show up in the muffins as chunks of cooked egg. Ugh.
dry ⇢ wet
Then, it’s time to bring the batter together. This may seem like it goes against all your knowledge of baking, but trust me: add the milk, egg, and oil into the dry ingredients all at once and stir until just moistened. The batter will be lumpy and rough, but that’s okay. It’ll bake up into a deliciously dense and cakey muffin. Do not try to use a hand or stand mixer for this step! If the muffin batter is mixed too much, it will create a tough crumb. I use a wooden spoon.
The finished Best Chocolate Chip Muffin batter should look something like this:
bake!
Scoop a heaping amount of batter into each lined muffin tin cup. I fill mine about 3/4 of the way full because I like that puffed-up, ‘domed’ overhang for my muffins. Then, to make them extra pretty, press a few chocolate chips or chunks into the tops of each muffin. This gives them such a charming look! The last thing to do before baking is to apply that generous sprinkling of brown and white sugar. Make sure each muffin gets some.
baking, cont’d ☻
One more step until these beautiful Best Chocolate Chip Muffins are ready to be served! Brush any excess sugar off of the pan (so that it doesn’t stick on and burn) and place the muffins in the 400°F oven for 20 minutes or until golden-brown and risen. Let cool slightly and remove from the pan. Serve warm and get ready to impress everyone at your next party, lunch, or Sunday brunch!
Put those few steps together, and with almost zero preparation or effort, you too can have one of ~these~ coveted confections. Gorgeous, I know.
It’s finally time to get to the recipe. Once again, all credit goes to the poster ‘Janice’ on AllRecipes. I’d love to have put my own twist on these somehow, but 1,170 good reviews agree that there’s no messing with perfection here. Make these Best Chocolate Chip Muffins for yourself and you’ll understand why they’re so beloved in the Kitchen household!
recipe for best chocolate chip muffins
Best Chocolate Chip Muffins
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Cupcake liners
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg large
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate, chips or chunks (we love chunks!)
- pinches of granulated & brown sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and place the liners in the muffin tin.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips until well-combined. Blend the milk, oil, and egg in another separate, small bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not overmix! The batter will be lumpy and thick, but that's okay.
- Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle granulated and brown sugar generously on top of each one. Don't be shy!
- Place muffins into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. They will be crispy and golden-brown on the tops. Serve fresh out of the oven while the chocolate is still melty and good. 😉
Notes
- Recipe from www.SoCosmopoliteen.com, originally pulled from Janice on AllRecipes
- These are a favorite in my family, and soon will be in yours, too!
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So, there’s how to make the Best Chocolate Chip Muffins that you will ever eat! As I said before, they’re perfect for coping with post-Christmas letdown, but would also be a delicious addition to any special breakfast spread, party, or just as an everyday delight. A fluffy, bakery-style chocolate chip muffin is always a good idea. 😉
You know you want one. And they’re incredibly easy to make, so there’s no excuse! Try it out, and, of course, let me know what you think via a comment or by posting on Instagram. Tag me @SoCosmopoliteen! I’d love to see what you bake.
Before I go, I hope everyone had a very merry holiday and that you’re all staying safe during this pandemic! I know it feels like things just get harder every day, but we’re almost done with 2020, and the vaccine seems very promising, so hang in there. Better days are ahead!
As always, I seriously hope you love this post, and happy baking!
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