Chocolate Chip Muffins

These chocolate chip muffins are exactly what you want when you’re craving something sweet but don’t want the fuss of making cookies. They come out with crispy tops and soft middles, with chocolate chips in every bite. I make them on weekends. since they’re quick enough that I’m not stuck in the kitchen all morning.

What makes these work is using enough butter to keep them moist and mixing just until the flour disappears – overmix and they’ll get tough. They’re best warm from the oven, but they hold up for a few days in a container. Just 10 seconds in the microwave brings back that fresh-baked taste.

What you need for Chocolate Chip Muffins

How to Make Chocolate Chip Muffins

1. Start by preheating your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners – I like to give the top of the pan a quick spritz with cooking spray too, since these muffins rise quite a bit and this prevents any overflow from sticking.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. This mixing step is really important – give it a good 30 seconds of stirring to make sure the baking powder is evenly distributed. You don’t want any bitter spots in your muffins!

3. In a separate bowl, combine both sugars, making sure to break up any brown sugar lumps with your fingers – those won’t disappear during baking, so get them now. Add your eggs and whisk until the mixture looks slightly lighter in color. Pour in the milk, oil, and vanilla, then whisk until everything’s well combined.

4. Make a well in the center of all the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold everything together with gentle strokes, scraping the bottom of the bowl as you go. Stop mixing as soon as you don’t see any more flour streaks – the batter will look lumpy and that’s exactly what you want. Overmixing will make your muffins tough.

5. Add chocolate chips and fold them in with just 3-4 strokes. Some chips will sink to the bottom and that’s fine – they’ll distribute as the muffins bake.

6. Pour the batter into muffin cups. They should be quite full, about ¾ of the way up. If you’re using the coarse sugar (it gives a lovely crunch!), sprinkle about a teaspoon over each muffin.

7. Bake for 18-22 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are golden brown and slightly cracked, and a toothpick inserted between the chocolate chips comes out clean. The muffins should also spring back when you lightly press the top with your finger.

8. Let them cool for 5 minutes – they’re still setting up inside and will be too soft to handle right away. They’re amazingly warm when the chocolate is still melty, but give them at least 15 minutes so you don’t burn yourself on the molten chips!

Makes 12 nicely domed muffins.