Chocolate Muffins

Rich, indulgent chocolate muffins studded with dark chocolate chips and a gorgeous crunchy muffin top. Takes 10 minutes to make, 1 hour to rest, and 15 minutes to bake!

Iโ€™ve had it on my mind to make chocolate muffins for a while now. The only reason I didnโ€™t, is because I kept thinking on how I could make these muffins more unique/different/specialโ€ฆbut then I realized chocolate is special and muffins are special so here we are lol. 

What makes these chocolate muffins so good?!

  • Theyโ€™re large and shareable (if you want lol)
  • Large crispy muffin top, because thatโ€™s the best part, ofc.
  • Theyโ€™re sooo fluffy but also rich and indulgent like chocolate should be.
  • Packed full of your favorite chocolate chips – dark chocolate, milk chocolate, mini chocolate chips or even white chocolate chips. 
  • Stay moist, fluffy/bouncy for days. 

If you love a fluffy muffin with large muffin tops, make sure to check out all my muffin recipes. I have sooo many and they all stem from my favorite vanilla muffins. I have my famous blueberry muffins, strawberry crunch muffins, nutella muffins, banana bread muffins, pumpkin muffins, etc. 

If youโ€™re here for all things chocolate, may I recommend my favorite brown butter brownies, double chocolate chip cookies, ferrero rocher cookies and chocolate ganache cake

Ingredients

  • Flour: I use all purpose flour in most of my recipes and I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured. 
  • Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Weโ€™re going to need both here and a lot of them to get that gorgeous muffin top.
  • Cocoa Powder: I love using dutch-processed cocoa powder but any unsweetened cocoa powder works fine. 
  • Sugar: sugar contributes to texture as much as to flavor so I donโ€™t recommend cutting the sugar. I used granulated sugar and personally donโ€™t prefer the flavor or texture if swapped with brown sugar (or any other sugar).
  • Butter: I like to use salted butter but unsalted also works, just add an extra 1/4 tsp of salt. 
  • Eggs: I use room temperature, large eggs. Place them in hot water for a few minutes if theyโ€™re cold.
  • Greek Yogurt/Milk/Cream: I found my favorite combination to be half greek yogurt and half heavy whipping cream. I know itโ€™s weird, most people donโ€™t use cream in muffins but I promise itโ€™s so good.
    • If you donโ€™t want to use cream and you want to use milk, I would sub the greek yogurt for sour cream or at least use a full-fat yogurt. The higher fat content helps keep these muffins more tender and moist. That said, you can also do greek yogurt and milk for a slightly healthier option. Theyโ€™ll be good, especially right away but they might dry out a little quicker. 
  • Vanilla: I added a little vanilla extract to the muffins. Any kind works, I wouldn’t waste the most expensive ones on these though cuz the chocolate is the dominant flavor here.ย 
  • Chocolate: I used a mix of dark chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips. You can use any type of chocolate you like, even a chopped chocolate bar will work fine. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar: let the butter cool a little before combining with the sugar.
  2. Whisk in the eggs: this is important; whisk in one egg at a time for about 30 seconds, until itโ€™s completely combined, pale and fluffy. Then add another egg, etc. 
  3. Add the dairy: whisk in the greek yogurt and vanilla until itโ€™s smooth, then add the room temperature cream and whisk until itโ€™s smooth.
  4. Add the dry ingredients together: whisk in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the wet ingredients until theyโ€™re completely combined (I recommend sifting if your cocoa powder is clumpy).
  5. Add the chocolate chips and then fold them in just until theyโ€™re evenly distributed. 
  6. Rest the batter: another important step – cover the bowl and let the batter rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours. This allows the gluten to relax and the leaveners to get a head start. Don’t rest any longer though.
  7. Fill the muffin pan all the way to the top rim and top with ยฝ-1 tsp of granulated sugar to make a crunchy muffin top and a few chocolate chips.ย 
  8. Bake: for five minutes at 425 F (218 C) and then reduce oven temperature to 375 F (191 C) and bake for another 10ish minutes. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can I add in other mix-ins?

Absolutely! You could use any type of chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate bar in the batter. You could rub in a little orange zest to the sugar for a little chocolate orange action.ย 
You could also add 1/2-1 cup of chopped nuts or a swirl of peanut butter or Nutella through the middle and the top.

Can these chocolate muffins be made dairy-free?

Yes, dairy free butter, milk/cream, sour cream/yogurt will work fine for this recipe!ย 

Can these chocolate muffins be made gluten-free?

I havenโ€™t tested these specifically but all my cake recipes work well with gluten-free 1:1 substitutes like Bobโ€™s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour. This recipe is pretty similar to my cake recipes so it should work fine!

How to store chocolate muffins

I LOVE crispy muffin tops but if you store these in an airtight container, you lose that crispiness. So I leave them out overnight and then after the first night, I store them in an airtight container or bag at room temperature so they donโ€™t dry out.

I donโ€™t recommend refrigerating, as theyโ€™ll just dry out. You can freeze them and bring them back to room temperature before serving but again, youโ€™ll lose that crisp muffin top. 

How to freeze muffins

Bakes stay more fresh when theyโ€™re frozen. Place muffins in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag.

Or wrap each one in plastic wrap and then place them all in a freezer bag.

Freeze for up to a couple of months. Bring back to room temperature before serving.ย 

Thanks so much for reading todayโ€™s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. If you make these, I would absolutely love a star rating or review ๐Ÿ™‚

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B

Chocolate muffins stacked next to a glass of milk and a bite taken out of the muffin

Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Bernice Baran
Rich, indulgent chocolate muffins studded with dark chocolate chips and a gorgeous crunchy muffin top. Takes 10 minutes to make, 1 hour to rest, and 15 minutes to bake!
4.08 from 13 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Course Muffins
Cuisine American
Servings 12 large muffins
Calories 429 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1/2 cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder I used dutch-process
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter melted
  • 1 1/4 cup (250g) granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (170g) Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup (6oz) heavy cream room temperature
  • 2 cups (12oz) chocolate chips, reserving 1/4 cup for the top I used dark and mini semi-sweet but any works
  • 2-3 Tbsp sugar for topping *optional

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
    2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter and sugar until theyโ€™re well combined.
    1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, 1 1/4 cup (250g) granulated sugar
  • Add in one egg and whisk until itโ€™s well combined and has lightened in color, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the next two eggs, one at a time.
    3 large eggs
  • Add in the Greek Yogurt and the vanilla extract and whisk until itโ€™s completely smooth.
    3/4 cup (170g) Greek Yogurt, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Add in the heavy whipping cream and whisk until itโ€™s completely smooth.
    3/4 cup (6oz) heavy cream
  • Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until there are few streaks of flour left.ย 
  • Fold the chocolate chips into the batter, just until theyโ€™re evenly distributed and there are no more streaks of flour.
    2 cups (12oz) chocolate chips, reserving 1/4 cup for the top
  • Cover with a lid, plastic wrap or a tea towel and set aside to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.ย 
  • Preheat the oven to 425F (218C) and line 12 muffins tins.ย 
  • Use a large cookie scooper to fill the muffins tins to the top, the batter should be enough for 12 large muffins.
  • Sprinkle each muffin with 1-2 tsp of granulated sugar and a few chocolate chips.
    2-3 Tbsp sugar
  • Bake for 5 minutes and reduce the oven temperature to 375F (190C) and bake for 10-12 minutes, just until the muffins are large, set and spring back when you press on the center gently.ย 
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10-20 minutes before serving.ย 

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 429kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 6gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 286mgPotassium: 192mgFiber: 2gSugar: 37gVitamin A: 515IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 115mgIron: 2mg
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4 Comments

4.08 from 13 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




  1. 4 stars
    These are good! They definitely have good flavor and are easy to make. I used 5% Greek yogurt and followed all other instructions to the T! Thanks for the delicious recipe!

  2. 1 star
    Disappointed. Followed the recipe to the T and we found it to be dry and tasteless. Ingredients were at room temperature. I let the batter rest for an hour. Not sure why they came out the way they did.