I’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate muffin recipe for a while. Every recipe I’ve tried has been disappointing. Chocolate flavor too mild, texture too spongy, batter too dry, etc. I was looking for a chocolate muffin that had a deep chocolate flavor, was sweeter than what would be considered a healthy breakfast, but not as sweet as a cake, with a texture that is that of a muffin rather than a cupcake.
My search is finally over. During my last attempt at a chocolate muffin recipe, a reader, Meryl, left me a message. She suggested a chocolate muffin recipe by King Arthur’s Flour. As soon as she made the suggestion I got excited. I had a feeling I had found “the recipe.” You see Meryl is the same person who introduced me to my favorite chocolate cake recipe when I was on my search for the best chocolate cake. I stopped my search after I tried the Cook’s Illustrated Chocolate Cake she suggested to me.
Meryl was generous enough to provide me with the recipe with her notes. I wanted to make the recipe for a while, but I was always missing an ingredient. Finally, I got around to it this weekend. The recipe was so easy to whip together. Could the best chocolate muffin recipe really be this simple?
After I let the muffins cool, I took one bite, and I knew my search was over. These were exactly what I was looking for in a chocolate muffin. I only wish that the I hadn’t used oversized muffin cups because I ended up slightly overbaking my first batch. I realize taste is very subjective and so this might not be the “best” recipe for you, but it the perfect recipe for me. Thank you, Meryl!
Best Chocolate Muffins (from King Arthur’s Flour)
Yields: 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
coarse pearl sugar, for topping (optional) (I omitted this)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, salt, and chocolate chips. (I put the chocolate chips in last after the rest of the batter was finished). Set aside.
In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend; there’s no need to beat these muffins, just make sure everything is well-combined. (I still had some little bumps in mine. I then stirred in the chocolate chips).
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin; the cups will be heaped with batter, and the muffin will bake into a “mushroom” shape. Sprinkle with pearl sugar, if desired. (I left out the pearl sugar)
Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, allowing them to cool for about 15 minutes on a rack before peeling off the muffin papers or silicone cups.
Best Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
- 1 3/4 cups all-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp espresso powder optional
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (8-oz) fat free milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, salt, and chocolate chips. (I put the chocolate chips in last after the rest of the batter was finished). Set aside.
- In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend; there's no need to beat these muffins, just make sure everything is well-combined. (I still had some little bumps in mine. I then stirred in the chocolate chips).
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin; the cups will be heaped with batter, and the muffin will bake into a "mushroom" shape.
- Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, allowing them to cool for about 15 minutes on a rack before peeling off the muffin papers or silicone cups.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Can’t wait to try these! Have you heard of anyone trying without the chocolate chips? Or did they melt pretty well into the muffin?
You might find the muffins a bit plain without the chips. It’s also not very sweet without them