Chocolate Chip Muffins

Not gonna lie, I'm always a little suspicious of muffin recipes. Is the 'muffin' they advertise really just a cupcake disguised as a muffin? I mean, nothing against cupcakes, but if I wanted a cupcake, I would make one. And if it does turn out to be a muffin, is a bakery style muffin? As in one with a big, crusty top, thick, moist, not too sweet, and with add-ins or streusel? Because that's my kind of muffin – a real muffin.

But I am proud to announce that these muffins are muffins...even though the original pictures looked a little cupcake-y for my tastes. And I probably shouldn't be saying that because my pictures look a little cupcake-y. But in my defense, it was the cupcake liners' fault!

This week I decided that I needed to make something with these cute cupcake papers ASAP because I got them in IKEA a few months back. I know, that's a long time ago, but I forgot.

My choices to make with the papers were: cupcakes or muffins. Now, I couldn't make cupcakes because I was just in the process of decorating cupcakes for an order (and there were extras for us), so it had to be muffins. Plus it was breakfast time when I went through all this.

But you see, this is where the problem with the muffin tops comes in. These papers are not normal – they are a different shape (narrow but tall), which is why I wanted to test them.

Turns out the papers work great! They peel away sooo nicely from the muffins (although, that could be another good quality on the muffins' part...I hate it when I have to nibble the papers like a dog to get the half of my muffin that is stuck there).

So since the papers were narrower and taller than normal, they didn't fit in the pan quite right...and the batter just kept pushing the cupcake paper sides out...and out...and out...until I ran out of batter but the papers weren't filled to the tops. I could see that the muffins would have had big, beautiful muffin tops had I just made less muffins and filled the papers higher, but it was too late. My only reconciliation was that the tops were still sparkly...I sprinkled some vanilla sugar from Sweden on the tops. Yum!

So you see? These muffins are true muffins if you fill the papers to the tops. And when you eat the muffins, you will discover that they are delicious...not very crumbly, and still moist with the perfect amount of chocolate chips. They are not cupcakes – and I should know because I had one for lunch. They are substantial, sort of like waffles. I should know that too because I had one for dinner. It's summer right?

In case you're wondering about the funny way the muffins bake, baking these at a very high temperature first then lowering it makes the muffins dome nicely. Also, the ginormous amount of baking powder keeps the muffins fluffy, and using buttermilk makes them moist. This muffin batter comes together really fast – but don't try to go too fast and use an electric mixer. Muffin batter is delicate and an electric mixer will produce rock hard muffins.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes: 6 jumbo, 15 standard, or 30 mini muffins (baking times differ)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour (do not overmeasure)

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup buttermilk* 

1/2 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil/melted coconut oil)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet chocolate, chocolate chunks, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate)

coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers or spray with non-stick spray.

2. In a large bowl, use a spatula to mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined. Set aside.

3. Mix eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add milk, oil, and vanilla and mix until combined into a pale yellow batter.

4. Using a wooden spoon, fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix. Be sure to scrape dry ingredients from bottom of bowl and mix until no pockets of flour remain – the batter will be thick and lumpy.

5. Fold in chocolate chips.

6. Fill muffin cups all the way. Sprinkle sugar on top if desired.

7. For jumbo muffins: Bake at 425ºF degrees for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for 25-26 minutes more, until lightly golden and the tops are set.

For standard muffins: Bake at 425ºF degrees for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for 13-14 minutes more, until lightly golden and the tops are set.

For mini muffins: Bake at 375ºF degrees for 11-12 minutes, until lightly golden and the tops are set.

8. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat with butter, jam, or peanut butter. Muffins taste best the same day. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

*Buttermilk produces the moistest texture. For easy homemade buttermilk: 1 cup milk + 1 Tbs. vinegar OR lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.

Recipe from: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/17/bakery-style-chocolate-chip-muffins/