Soft rich chocolate muffin tops (Printer-friendly)

Soft, rich muffin tops with crisp edges and melty chocolate chips for an indulgent treat.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
03 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

→ Wet Ingredients

06 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
07 - 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
08 - 2 large eggs
09 - 1/2 cup whole milk
10 - 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
11 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

→ Add-Ins

13 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, milk, sour cream or yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.
04 - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
05 - Carefully fold the semisweet chocolate chips into the batter.
06 - Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4 cup measure, drop mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them approximately 2 inches apart.
07 - Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
08 - Allow the muffin tops to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • You get all the best part of a muffin—the crispy, golden top—without fighting with paper liners or dry bottoms.
  • They come together in under 30 minutes, which means you can have warm chocolate muffins faster than you'd expect.
  • The cocoa-to-chocolate ratio makes them genuinely rich without being overwhelming, so you feel satisfied with just one or two.
02 -
  • Don't overbake these—the residual heat keeps cooking them for a minute or two after they come out, and underbaked is infinitely better than dry here.
  • Melted butter that's cooled slightly mixes more evenly into the batter than hot butter, which can scramble the eggs.
03 -
  • Room-temperature ingredients mix together more smoothly and evenly, so pull your eggs, milk, and sour cream out of the fridge a few minutes before baking.
  • If your chocolate chips keep sinking to the bottom, toss them in a tablespoon of flour before folding them in—it suspends them throughout the batter.