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
Calling all chocolate lovers! These melt-in-your-mouth chocolate muffins with a double hit of chocolate make a delicious breakfast or after-school snack.
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 light brown sugar, packed (be sure it is fresh with no hard lumps)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. 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 of the chocolate chips, the buttermilk-egg mixture, and the melted butter. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix until 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 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 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.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 – 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 324
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Sugar: 31 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 293 mg
- Cholesterol: 52 mg
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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Absolute perfection! I LOVE chocolate and these definitely hit the spot. Highly recommend!
I’m scratching my head wondering how I could’ve gotten them to look anything like the photo. I don’t think it’s possible. I used fresh baking powder and baking soda but they’re still ugly. I guess if you really like muffins this is an alright recipe but I won’t be making it again because there are too many other wonderful looking things to try. Everything else I’ve ever made following this chef has been amazing.
Definitely spray the top of your muffin pan with nonstick spray. Otherwise it’s gonna rip the tops off when it spills over and hardens on the tray.
I rarely leave reviews but I feel this recipe worthy. I actually feel all the recipes I have baked from this site are worthy. Not only are the recipes easy to follow and create. They are also delicious. The soft moist cakes I’ve created have been beyond amazing. We just scarfed these choc muffins in record time. Last week I did a funfetti layer cake for a little boy’s birthday (who I had never even met) who lost his home in the devastating floods that hit our community. It was received with such happiness and I was told how yummy it was.
I will continue to use these recipes. I need to try some of the savoury ones.
Thank you
Glad you enjoyed these (and how sweet of you to make the funfetti cake for the birthday boy). ❤️❤️
I love this recipe! The muffins are incredibly soft even after a few days (in air tight containers) and tasted really good! My family loves and praises them. I could not find buttermilk in my supermarket so I had to opt for whole milk which was not an issue at all. Definitely want to make them once a month now 🙂
Have you tried just adding vinegar to normal milk if you don’t have buttermilk? 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of milk. I never buy buttermilk anymore.
This reply is slightly late. I have not, but I will definitely give it a go! Thank you 🙂
Dry and no flavor. Followed recipe exactly. Even bought buttermilk so recipe would be the same. Waste of money and time.
These muffins are amazing, we accidentally made them without baking powder and soda and they still were fluffy suckers! They made it two days in our house. Thank you for sharing!!
Delicious!!
These showed up in an email just prior to Valentine’s Day. Made these as cakes are just too much for 2. Used Hershey Dark Cocoa and Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips – and actually found full fat buttermilk. What a dream for chocolate lovers. They are sensational and easy as can be to make up. Absolutely do not understand the comments about dryness – these were moist and perfect deep chocolate flavor. Definitely sharing this recipe and product with others. Another total winner from Jenn!
Omg… what did I just eat?! These muffins are perfection!!!! I made mini muffins, thinking I would eat less. These are going to disappear pronto. Thanks, Jenn, another fantastic recipe!
Hello! I’ve made these before and love them. Is there a way to use all Dutch-process cocoa in place of regular? I’ve read before that to do that you leave out all the baking soda and use double that amount of baking powder.
Hi Terri, I wouldn’t recommend Dutch-process cocoa powder here — sorry!
Joy of baking(the original recipe this is based on) says you can use either unsweetened cocoa or Dutch processed.