Name: Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (113 g) butter, melted and slightly cooled; 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 cup milk; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour; 1 tbsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt, optional (only if your butter is unsalted); 1/2 cup chocolate chips

These chocolate chip muffins bake in a gentle oven, about 340°F, for 25 to 30 minutes. That steady heat gives the middles time to cook through while the tops turn golden.

The batter is short and plain: melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and a full tablespoon of baking powder. I stir it by hand and stop while it still looks a little lumpy.

Half a cup of chocolate chips goes in last. It’s enough for a few in every bite.

The thing I check at the end is the center. A toothpick should come out with no wet batter on it, only a crumb or a smear of melted chocolate.

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How long do you bake chocolate chip muffins?

Bake them for 25 to 30 minutes at about 340°F, the 170°C setting Mamas recipes gives for this batter. They’re done when the tops are golden and spring back when pressed and a toothpick in the center comes out without wet batter. Start checking at 25 minutes.

Why This Recipe Works

A full tablespoon of baking powder for 2 cups of flour gives this batter all the lift it needs, so there’s no baking soda to measure.
Melted butter whisks straight into the sugar, eggs, and milk, which means no mixer and no waiting for butter to soften. Yeast Mode melts the butter for its near-identical batter.
A moderate oven bakes the muffins through to the center before the outsides get too dark.

I fold the flour in with a spatula and stop the second the last dry patch disappears. The small lumps that are left bake out completely.

Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Chip Muffins

Every ingredient is a pantry staple, and there’s nothing to cream or chill.
Two bowls and a whisk do the whole job.
The batter is ready before the oven finishes heating.
The chips stay as soft pockets of chocolate inside a plain, tender crumb.

The Ingredient List

1/2 cup (113 g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt, optional (only if your butter is unsalted)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Ingredient Notes

Butter is the only fat here, so its salt matters. If you use unsalted butter, a half teaspoon of salt sharpens the chocolate.

Yeast Mode skips that salt when the butter is already salted, and I’d do the same. The tablespoon of baking powder is the full leavening for the batch.

Check that yours is fresh, because an old can won’t give these muffins much rise, and there’s no backup in the batter to cover for it. Mamas recipes uses dark chocolate chips, and their slight bitterness works well against a sweet, vanilla-heavy crumb.

Any regular-size chips work in this batter. Bigger chips leave bigger soft pockets, and that’s the texture I’m after.

Step-by-Step Directions

Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease each cup well. Let the oven preheat fully before the batter goes in, so the muffins start rising right away.
Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. Set it aside for a few minutes, until it feels warm but no longer hot when you touch the side of the container.
Whisk the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, then the milk and vanilla, whisking until the mixture is smooth with no streaks of egg left.
Whisk the dry ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt if you’re using it. Keep whisking until the baking powder is evenly spread through the flour and you can’t see any small clumps.
Fold it together. Tip the dry ingredients into the wet ones and fold with a spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl. Stop as soon as no dry flour is visible. The batter should look thick and a little lumpy.
Add the chips. Scatter the chocolate chips over the batter and fold them in with a few strokes. Stop when they’re spread through evenly, before the batter starts to look smooth and stretchy.
Fill the cups. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups. Smooth the tops lightly with the back of a spoon so they bake evenly.
Bake. Bake the chocolate chip muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops are golden and spring back when pressed lightly. A toothpick in the center should come out with no wet batter on it.
Cool briefly. Let the muffins sit in the pan for a few minutes, until the liners pull away from the pan cleanly, then lift them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

What I’ve Learned Making These Chocolate Chip Muffins

Don’t keep stirring once the flour disappears. Overmixed batter bakes into tough, tunneled muffins, and the lumps you’re trying to smooth out bake away on their own.
If the toothpick hits a chip, it’ll come out streaked with chocolate. Try a second spot before you decide they need more time.
I add the half teaspoon of salt with unsalted butter even though the base formula leaves it out. It’s a small change, and I’m keeping it.
Let the melted butter cool a little before it meets the eggs. Very hot butter can start to cook them.
The batter has raw egg and raw flour, so save the tasting for the baked muffins.

Make-Ahead and Leftovers

The sources behind this recipe don’t cover storage at all. What follows is general kitchen practice, not a tested number or a source’s advice.

Once the muffins are completely cool, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature and eat them within a couple of days. A paper towel in the container soaks up moisture so the tops don’t turn sticky.

For longer keeping, freezing cooled muffins in a freezer bag is common practice, though no source here tests it. Thaw them on the counter, still wrapped.

A few seconds in the microwave softens the chips again before serving.

What to Serve With Chocolate Chip Muffins

A cold glass of milk, the classic partner for anything with chocolate chips.
Hot coffee, since its bitterness balances the sweet crumb.
Fresh strawberries or orange slices, which add something juicy and tart next to a sweet muffin.

Equipment Worth Having

A 12-cup muffin pan, sturdy enough that it doesn’t warp in the oven.
Paper liners, or butter and a brush if you’d rather grease the cups.
Two mixing bowls, one large for the wet ingredients and one for the dry.
A whisk and a flexible spatula for folding without overmixing.
A wire rack so the bottoms don’t steam and go soggy as they cool.

Common Questions

Why are my chocolate chip muffins dense? Usually the batter was overmixed after the flour went in. Fold only until the dry flour disappears, and check that your baking powder is fresh.

Can I get tall bakery-style domes? Sally’s Baking Addiction starts its own muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes and then lowers the oven to 350°F. That bake was written for a richer buttermilk batter, so I keep this one at the single temperature it was written for.

How many muffins does this recipe make? About 12 regular muffins is my estimate. The sources for this batter don’t give a count or a pan size.

Can I use more chocolate chips? Yes. The batter stays the same, so adding more chips only changes how chocolatey each bite is.

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