Chocolate Chip Muffins

Headnote

These muffins are built for a tender crumb, a clean vanilla note, and pockets of melted chocolate throughout. Butter lends depth, oil preserves softness, and a restrained batter keeps the texture light rather than cakey. The result is a simple classic executed with discipline and precision.

Recipe essentials

Dish category: Sweet baked goods

Cuisine or origin: American

Course type: Breakfast or snack

Yield: 6 muffins

Serving size: 1 muffin

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Total time: 33 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

6-cup muffin tin

Paper liners

Mixing bowl

Small bowl

Whisk

Rubber spatula

Wire rack

Oven

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

Wheat flour, 180 g

Sugar, 90 g

Baking powder, 6 g

Salt, 1 g

Wet ingredients

Butter, melted and cooled, 60 g

Vegetable oil, 30 g

Egg, 50 g

Milk, 90 g

Water, 30 g

Vanilla extract, 3 g

Finish

Chocolate chips, 90 g

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Line a 6-cup muffin tin with paper liners. The oven must be fully preheated before the batter is mixed.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for 20 seconds until the mixture is uniform and aerated.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, vegetable oil, egg, milk, water, and vanilla extract until smooth and fully blended.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula for 15 to 20 seconds, just until the flour disappears. The batter should remain slightly lumpy; overmixing will tighten the crumb.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips evenly, taking care not to break the batter structure.

6. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. The surface should mound slightly.

7. Bake for 5 minutes at 200°C, then reduce the oven to 180°C and continue baking for 11 to 13 minutes. The muffins are ready when the tops are domed, lightly bronzed, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

8. Remove the tin from the oven and rest for 5 minutes. Lift the muffins out and cool them on a wire rack until warm or fully cooled.

Plating and serving

Serve the muffins upright, with the domed tops visible and the chocolate evenly distributed through the crumb. Present them plain, allowing the contrast between the pale interior and the dark chips to remain the focus.

Professional notes

The initial high heat gives lift before the crumb sets; do not skip the temperature change. Use melted butter cooled to warm, not hot, or the egg will tighten. For the cleanest texture, mix only until the flour is absorbed and no further.