Chocolate Chip Muffins
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These easy chocolate chip muffins are soft and tender inside, with golden, sugar-crusted tops and mini chocolate chips in every bite.
These chocolate chip muffins were one of my go-tos when my kids were growing up, especially when I had a houseful of their friends to feed. The batter comes together in just 10 minutes (no mixer needed), and 20 minutes later, you’ve got warm, melty, chocolatey muffins ready to eat.
“Moist, delicious, and the perfect amount of chocolate chips — I couldn’t keep my kids and husband away from them!!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chip Muffins
- All-Purpose Flour: For the most accurate measurement, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Work together to give the muffins their lift and fluffy texture.
- Melted Butter: Using melted butter keeps the batter quick and easy—no mixer needed.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: Using both gives the muffins sweetness and a subtle caramel note from the brown sugar.
- Eggs & Vanilla: The eggs provide structure and richness, while vanilla rounds out the chocolate flavor.
- Sour Cream: Keeps the muffins moist and gives them a tender crumb and soft texture. If you keep plain Greek yogurt on-hand, it’s perfectly fine to use it in place of the sour cream with no other modifications.
- Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Mini chocolate chips are less likely to sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking, which means more chocolate in every bite.
- Coarse Sugar: Sprinkled over the muffins before baking, it gives the tops their signature sweet crunch.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Chocolate Chip Muffins
Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk the dry ingredients together well so the baking powder and baking soda are evenly distributed throughout the flour. This helps the muffins rise evenly.
Mix the wet ingredients: Whisk the melted butter with the sugars and vanilla until well combined, then add the eggs and sour cream.
Finish the batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until combined. Once the flour goes in, avoid overmixing, which can make the muffins tough. Fold in the mini chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Fill the muffin cups: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, then sprinkle a few additional mini chocolate chips and some coarse sugar over the tops. The sugar bakes into a crisp, sparkly topping.
Bake the muffins: Bake until the muffins are risen and golden on top. Let them cool briefly in the pan, then transfer them to a rack to finish cooling. These muffins are best the day they’re made, but leftovers keep well for a few days and can also be frozen. See the recipe card below for full storage and freezing instructions.
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Chocolate Chip Muffins (Easy, No-Mixer)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Heaping ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ⅔ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus about 3 tablespoons more for sprinkling on top
- About 1½ tablespoons coarse sugar, such as turbinado or sanding sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the sour cream. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until evenly combined. Stir in ⅔ cup (120 g) of the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the muffin cups about three-quarters full. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining chocolate chips, followed by the coarse sugar. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until domed and golden brown. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. The muffins are best enjoyed fresh on the same day, but leftovers will keep well in a covered container for a few days. (To refresh individual muffins, warm in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds.)
Notes
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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I’ve tried a few different chocolate chip muffin recipes but this one is the clear winner!! Most were either dry, or kind of bland, or both. Made this twice now. Thank you so much for the recipe- it’s absolutely delicious!!
Hands down, best chocolate chip muffin recipe I’ve tried. Not only is the flavor and texture perfect, but it has the perfect amount to fill up 12 muffins perfectly to make the muffins rounded without overflowing. And super easy to think.
I made these this morning and they came out fabulous! So moist and tender and the best with a glass of milk! I sprinkled the tops with a mixture of sea salt and turbinado sugar! This will be a favorite in the rotation at our house!
can I use fat free sour cream?
Hi Joanne, technically it will work, but I’d recommend going with low-fat instead of fat-free if possible. Hope that helps!
I made these last night, and truthfully, I was not optimistic. For one thing, I’ve never been a fan of any muffins with chocolate – I know, I must be crazy, right? Also, I’ve never made muffins with chocolate. Ever. But, my kids requested chocolate chip muffins – my kids are both grown and live on their own, so I love to make foods I know they love, to “encourage” them to come by more often (I’m still learning how to do this whole empty nest thing). So, here goes – I got several steps going, when I realize I don’t have eggs or sour cream or unsalted butter. You see why I’m not feeling good about this, right? I substituted applesauce for the eggs, and plain yogurt for the sour cream, and salted butter for the unsalted, and didn’t put any salt in – again – never done before. To my surprise, the muffins turned out to be totally awesome! Even I loved them! My kids are already asking me to bake more!! Now I’m wondering, should I use eggs, sour cream and unsalted butter, or applesauce, yogurt and butter? I don’t ever write reviews either…..these are off the charts. really.
These muffins are delicious!! So moist and fluffy. They baked up perfectly. Your recipes never dissapoint!
Just made another batch and had to tell you again that these muffins are delicious.
Can I make these as mini muffins? If so how long would I leave it in the oven and at what temperature?
Hi Sally, you can turn these into mini muffins. I’d keep the oven temp the same, but start checking them at 11 to 12 minutes. Enjoy!
I am wondering if you can substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream
Sure!
I made these yesterday and they were delicious– very moist! However, I did not have sanding sugar for the top, and I noticed that my muffins did not brown like yours despite being fully cooked. Was it the lack of sanding sugar that prevented browning or could have it been something else?
Hi Sarah, glad you enjoyed the muffins! The lighter color on top could have been due in part to the lack of sanding sugar as that does add some color, but is there any chance they were a bit underbaked?