Bakery Style Muffins

One of my daughter’s favorite things I bake for her are muffins. Blueberry, cranberry, chocolate chip, banana, lemon poppy seed, it really doesn’t matter with this kid. She just loves an easy excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. Who doesn’t though, really? There’s a reason decadent pastries and baked goods are so popular in the morning! Because of her love of them, I fully dedicate this recipe to her.

Just as their label as bakery style muffins would suggest, these muffins are moist, soft, flavorful, and have that signature massive top. The chocolate chips offer bittersweet pockets that beautifully complement the sweet cake, and a crunchy cinnamon streusel sprinkled on top. Though truly, if you aren’t a fan of pairing warm spices and chocolate, just leave it out. Perfect to bake for your next brunch, picnic, or lazy Sunday with your own kids.

FAQs and Science

Why allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes before throwing the muffins into the oven?

Resting the batter for 15 minutes allows the flour to hydrate, helping the muffins to plump up better in the oven.

Are the cups really supposed to be filled up so high?

Yes, that’s another technique for making bigger muffin tops! The fuller they are, the larger the tops become.

Could I replace the semisweet chocolate chips with milk chocolate chips?

You are the manager of your muffins. If you want milk chocolate over semisweet, it’s your call! Just keep in mind, this recipe was created with the slight bitterness of semisweet in mind, so they’ll undoubtedly be sweeter than intended with milk chocolate.

What does the sour cream do for the batter? Does it have to be full fat?

Sour cream provides a more tender texture for the muffins, both from the acidity and the fat content! Which is why it’s important that full fat sour cream is used; more fat makes for softer baked goods.

How should the sour cream be measured?

A completely fair question, since sour cream is so wet! But it does count as a solid, so should be measured in a dry measuring cup.

Why start at 400F then lower to 350F?

The burst of very high heat helps the muffins spring up more, creating higher muffin tops. Lowering it back down prevents the muffins from burning before they’re baked all the way through.

Can the streusel be left out?

If you just aren’t a streusel person, absolutely leave it out. It’s a garnish more than anything, not a structurally integral part of the recipe.

What You’ll Need

• 2 12-cup standard muffin tins
• Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
• 1 medium mixing bowl
• 1 small mixing bowl
• 1 small microwave safe bowl
• Dry measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Cupcake wrappers
• Fork
• Cooling rack

The Process

Begin by preheating the oven to 400F, on the convection setting if possible, taking care to place the rack in the center of the oven. Yes, this is an incredibly high temperature for a muffin. Trust the process, and check out the FAQs and Science Section if you’re curious why we’re starting so hot! Place a paper cupcake wrapper in every other cup in each muffin tin, and set them aside. If you bake them all directly next to each other, the tops will fuse together as they bake. Give the beautiful tops their space.

Whisk together the flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, and salt, in a medium mixing bowl. Adding the chocolate chips to the rest of the dry ingredients now gives them a light coating of flour. This coating will help keep them suspended in the rest of the batter, rather than immediately sinking to the bottom during baking.

In the bowl of a stand mixer that’s been fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar. Beat them on level 3 for 5 minutes or so, until the mixture goes from a thick butter yellow to almost white and develops a super fluffy texture, as shown. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Onto the eggs! Crack one egg in at a time, beating the batter on level 3 for about 30 seconds or so, until it’s fully absorbed into the batter. If you try to add every egg in at once, or don’t wait for the previous to fully absorb, it will be very difficult for the batter to stay properly emulsified. Just be patient, and scrape down the sides of the bowl between each egg or as needed.

Now for the liquids. Whisk together the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. I usually do this directly in the liquid measuring cup using a fork, since it’s large enough and I’d rather not have another dirty dish, but you could also do so in a separate mixing bowl. Whatever works best in your kitchen is the best option.

To finish bringing the batter together, grab the dry goods and dump around ⅓ of them into the batter. Turn the mixer on to level 1 and with the mixer still running, when a few streaks of flour remain, pour in about ½ of the milk mixture. Once the liquid has absorbed, shut the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Repeat the process with the rest of dry and wet mixtures, beginning and ending on ⅓ of the dry. This order actually does make a difference in keeping a well emulsified batter! If you end with the liquid instead, it will appear curdled.

Let the batter rest. Yes, I would typically advise placing a batter like this directly into the oven, but patience in this case is needed. Those 15 minutes make a big difference in getting that beautiful, massive muffin top! They won’t be wasted, though, as it’s the perfect amount of time to throw together the topping, if you’re using it. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

Separately, melt the butter. I just do this in a small heat safe bowl in the microwave, but if that isn’t an option for whatever reason, you could also just melt it on the stove top! Pour the melted butter over the dry and, using a fork, whisk them together to create large chunks of streusel. Set this aside until the batter has rested enough and is ready to go into the oven.

Now to assemble and bake! Fill each lined cup with 8 Tablespoons or ½ a cup of batter. It’s going to seem like an absurd amount, but overfilling is one of the key techniques used to get the oversized muffin tops. Sprinkle as much streusel on top of each muffin as will fit, if you’re including it.

Place each pan next to each other on the center rack of the oven. Bake them at 400F for 7 minutes, then lower the temperature down to 350F. This burst of extreme heat helps to give the muffins another rising advantage, while turning it down afterwards allows them to bake fully without burning. Turn both pans around and bake them for another 20-23 minutes. The tops should be a beautiful golden brown, and a toothpick poked in the center will come out with only a few crumbs stuck to it.

Let the fully baked muffins rest in the hot pans for a few minutes before transferring them all to a cooling rack. If you try to move them immediately, they’re guaranteed to fall apart. Patience sucks when you’re finally done baking something delicious, but it’s necessary sometimes.

Do the best you can to allow them to cool down to room temperature, or at least close to it, before breaking into the muffins. Place any leftover muffins into a gallon sized zip-top bag or airtight container for up to 2 days.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Bake Time: 400 F for 7 minutes then 350F for 20-22 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

Batter:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup whole milk
• ¾ cup full fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel (Optional):

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

The Batter:

1. Prepare the batter to begin. Preheat the oven to 400F, on the convection setting if possible, making sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Line every other cup of two standard sized muffin tins with a cupcake wrapper, so 12 cups are filled with an empty space between each one. Set the pans aside.
2. In a small sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, and salt. Set the dry goods aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat them on level 3 for 5 minutes or so, until the mixture goes from a thick, butter yellow to almost white and very fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. One at a time, add in the eggs. Beat them in on level 3 for about a minute, waiting for the first egg to absorb into the batter before cracking in the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between each one, or as needed.
5. Whisk together the milk, sour cream, and vanilla, either in a small mixing bowl or in the liquid measuring cup, if it’s large enough.
6. Pour about ⅓ of the dry goods into the batter. Turn the mixer to level 1 for about 15 seconds, until most of the flour absorbs but a few streaks remain. Pour ½ of the milk mixture into the batter, keeping it running on level one. When it’s absorbed, turn the mixer off again and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue adding ⅓ of the dry goods and the other half of the milk, scraping the bowl in between and ending on the final ⅓ of dry.
7. Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes before portioning it out and getting the muffins into the oven. While you wait, prepare the streusel topping.

The Top:

1. As the batter rests, if you’re including it, prepare the streusel. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
2. In a small heat-safe bowl, melt the butter. Pour it over the dry goods and, using a fork, whisk them together so the streusel forms large clumps. Set the streusel aside until the 15 minutes for the batter are up.

Assembly and Bake:

1. Into each lined cup, portion out ½ cup or 8 Tablespoons of batter. Sprinkle a bit of streusel onto each muffin, covering as much of the top as you’d like.
2. Place the muffins onto the center rack of the heated oven. Bake them at 400F for 7 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350F. Flip the pans around, and bake them for another 20-23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
3. Allow the muffins to rest in the hot pans for a few minutes, then transfer them over to a cooling rack. Let them cool down to room temperature. Store any leftover muffins in either a gallon sized zip-top bag or an airtight container for up to two days, and enjoy!

Tips

• Fully baked muffins freeze wonderfully! Follow the recipe as written, then place fully cooled muffins into a few freezer safe bags. Freeze them for up to 3 months. Pull and thaw as many at one time as you’d like, either on the counter overnight or more quickly in a microwave or low temperature oven.
• Substitute the chocolate chips with your favorite muffin addition! Blueberries, raspberries, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, these muffins are your freshly baked babies. Think of this recipe as a muffin base guide rather than set in stone.