Chocolate Muffins
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With a soft crumb and double the chocolate, these chocolate muffins strike the perfect balance between indulgent and everyday-friendly—no bakery run required!
The men in my family are all devoted chocoholics, so I’ve made a lot of chocolate treats over the years—but most don’t exactly count as breakfast. Not so with these double chocolate muffins! They’re less sweet than chocolate cupcakes, with a soft, tender crumb and rich chocolate flavor from a double dose of cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Best of all, they come together fast with pantry staples.
Whether someone needs a midweek pick-me-up or we’re just craving something a little more indulgent for breakfast, this is the chocolate muffin recipe we turn to again and again. If your craving round two, don’t miss my favorite chocolate chip muffins—they’re just as delicious.
“These muffins are spectacular! They come out beautiful, moist and chocolatey every time I make them.”
What you’ll need To Make Chocolate Muffins
- Large Eggs: Add structure and moisture, helping the muffins hold together while keeping the texture tender.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and tangy flavor, while helping create a soft, tender crumb. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, or don’t want to purchase a whole carton, see how to make buttermilk using milk and vinegar or lemon juice.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the flavor and brings out the richness of the chocolate.
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the batter. For best results, scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife.
- Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Delivers bold chocolate flavor without making the muffins overly sweet. Note that this is not the same as Dutch-process cocoa powder; they are not interchangeable in recipes.
- Light Brown Sugar: Sweetens the muffins and adds a hint of molasses flavor. Gently pack it into the measuring cup for accuracy.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Help the muffins rise and stay light and fluffy.
- Semi-Sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate Chips: Add melty bursts of chocolate throughout—semi-sweet is a little sweeter, while bittersweet has a deeper, more intense cocoa flavor. Choose whichever you prefer.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor while keeping the muffins moist and soft.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined.
Step 2: Whisk the dry ingredients. In another large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well, then rub the mixture through your fingers to break up any brown sugar or cocoa powder clumps.
Step 3: Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips, the egg mixture, and the melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Stir to incorporate. Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined—don’t overmix. (Overmixing develops the gluten and can lead to tough muffins—stop stirring when you no longer see streaks of dry flour.)
Step 5: Fill the muffin tin. Line the muffin tin with muffin liners for easy release and cleanup. Then use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to fill the liners all the way to the top with batter. Filling the cups to the top helps give the muffins a nice domed shape—if using a scoop, this also keeps your portions even for consistent baking.
Step 6: Top off the muffins. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips evenly over the muffin tops, pressing them in lightly. Adding chips to the tops makes them look like bakery-style muffins and makes sure every bite has visible chocolate.
Step 7: Bake. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 12 minutes more, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Starting at a high temp helps the muffins rise quickly and form domed tops, while lowering the heat ensures they bake through evenly. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. The muffins can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
More Chocolate Recipes You May Like
Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk (see note)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ⅔ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey's
- 1¼ cups (packed) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Rub the mixture through your fingers to break up any lumps of brown sugar.
- To the dry ingredients, add ¾ cup (115 g) of the chocolate chips, the buttermilk-egg mixture, and the melted butter. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix until just combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, fill the muffin cups to the brim with batter. Distribute the remaining ¼ cup (40 g) of chocolate chips evenly over the muffin tops, pressing them lightly into the batter. Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F (175°C) and bake for about 12 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (check a few spots as the melted chocolate chips will make the tester look wet). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan; cool on a rack.
Notes
- If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, you can make your own using milk and lemon juice or vinegar. Check out how to make your own buttermilk.
- Freezing Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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The muffins turned out great! They were very chocolatey and moist inside and rose well. Reduced the brown sugar from 1 1/4 cups to just 1 cup because I prefer my baked goods a little less sweet, and they turned out perfectly even with less sugar. Definitely would recommend reducing the sugar to make it (just slightly) more healthy. Thanks for the recipe, will be making these again in the future!
Hello, Can I use this recipe to make giant muffins?
Sure. 🙂
Just made it yesterday… I used plain milk added with lemon as buttermilk substitute and instead of butter I used vegetable oil… The batter was not as thick as I thought but it turned out great and the muffin was gone within hours…. Thank you…
Just made these for my family… even though I didn’t use buttermilk (not available in my country) I used plain milk and muffins turned out great!!! How can I substitute buttermilk? Can I use oil instead of butter in this recipe? Thank you
Hi Zoe, So glad you’re enjoying the muffins. You can actually make buttermilk quite easily. See how here. And, yes, it’s fine to replace the butter with oil. Hope that helps!
Excellent recipe,
Everyone enjoyed!
Thank you for sharing.
Hi may i know how long can i keep these muffins after they bake? thank you! 😊
Hi Angie, Muffins are always best enjoyed fresh on the same day, but they’ll keep nicely in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Hope that helps!
Be still my beating heart!!.. these are perfect in texture-dense but not overly so, chocolaty goodness with out being too sweet. Definitely 5stars!! Next time I will use dark chocolate chips (just a personal preference) all chips in the batter/none on top (again, personal preference) and I will have them with a great cup of coffee!! Can’t wait to try these with a cream cheese filling. My local coffee shop and bakery’s could sure learn something from this recipe!!A quick tip to all muffin lovers out there, spritz your muffin papers with a non-stick cooking spray like Pam before putting in the batter. Makes for easy removal even when warm. Thank you for sharing such a fabulous recipe!!!!
My family loves these muffins! As I have a fussy eater, I’m wondering how I can alter the recipe to sneak in applesauce and/or zucchini? Thanks!
Hi, glad these are well liked in your house! I actually have a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread that can be converted into muffins. They’ll take less time to bake – I’d start checking them for doneness at 20 – 25 minutes.
Perfection! No other word fits these muffins. I made no substitutions and they came out perfect. I’m a chocoholic so I used good quality (Callebaut brand) cocoa powder and chocolate chips. These muffins were delicious. I can’t wait to make them for friends.
Thank you for another keeper!
I tried this skeptically, as Ive tried hundreds of highly ranked recipes only to end up with mediocre or sometimes pretty bad results. I have to say that these were fab! Soft, chocolaty and just enough not too sweetness to justify making them 😉 Made them with my 5yo and 8yo who cant wait to make them again. Thanks 🙂
Hi! How would I modify if I want to try to make 6 Jumbo muffins? Thank you.!!
Hi Joelle, I haven’t made these jumbo-sized, but I think should you should add about 5 – 10 minutes to the baking time. (I’d start checking them after 5 extra minutes.) Hope you enjoy them!
I made jumbo muffins with this recipe, using canola oil rather than butter. The yield is 8 muffins. Baked at the 425 degrees for 10 minutes; then the 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I used two six yield muffin tins and paper liners. You will have two empty cups in each tin, simply fill each of these 1/2 full of water for better heat distribution. They turned out fantastic. My husband said this recipe is definitely a keeper. He thought they were great; so did I.