Bakery-Style Moist Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Muffins

Bakeries always have a way of making all of their baked goods seem as if you need to get every single one of them each time you visit. What I love about baking my own recipes at home is trial and error, especially when it comes to making bakery-style muffins. These bakery-style moist chocolate chip sour cream muffins are literal perfection. A few tips and tricks is all it takes to getting these perfect each and every time.

There's truly no reason to not make these muffins every weekend so that you're stocked with deliciousness for breakfast everyday.

As always, my muffin recipes inspire one another, so it's no surprise that these were inspired by my chocolate chip banana muffins and my chocolate chip mini loaves, which is essentially a muffin's distant cousin.

Jump to:

• What are the ingredients for these sour cream chocolate chip muffins?
• Why bake with sour cream?
• How do I make these muffins?
• Muffin Swaps and Substitutions
• Muffin Variations
• Tips for making the best muffins
• Ways to serve these chocolate chip sour cream muffins
• How do I store this recipe? Can I freeze these muffins?
• Hungry for More?
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• Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins

What are the ingredients for these sour cream chocolate chip muffins?

• Eggs - a classic ingredient that goes into baked goods.
• Oil - either avocado or olive oil works great
• Cane Sugar - cane sugar gives these muffins their sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract - always good to add vanilla into baked goods, as it gives a subtle vanilla flavor.
• Sour Cream - baking with sour cream is my favorite! Sour cream gives additional fat to the bake, and results in a moist and velvety texture.
• Baking Soda + Baking Powder - we use a little of both for these muffins to give them an ultimate texture and rise.
• All-Purpose Flour - classic all-purpose flour is great for baking all sorts of things, and I love using it for muffins.
• Chocolate Chips - these wouldn't be chocolate chip muffins without the chocolate chips of course. We measure our chocolate chips with our eyes, not a scale 🙂

See the recipe card below for more information about specific quantities.

Why bake with sour cream?

Adding sour cream gives these muffins adds to the overall flavor and texture. While you can't really taste the sour cream in the muffin itself, it helps with these muffins tasting really, really good. Another benefit of sour cream in muffins is the little extra fat, giving the muffins a moist, softer taste. I swear I will begin incorporating sour cream in more of my muffin and loaf recipes. It truly makes a big difference.

How do I make these muffins?

Muffin Swaps and Substitutions

These muffins are incredibly versatile, so if there's something you want to swap out or substitute for the base recipe ingredient, feel free to do so, just know that these muffins were not tested with alternatives, so the swaps may alter the taste and texture a little.

• Gluten - instead of all purpose flour, you can use a gluten-free version. I would suggest a 1:1 flour as this is a very reliable swap.
• Dairy - use almond milk and a dairy-free sour cream instead of the regular milk and regular sour cream.
• Cane sugar - swap out the cane sugar for coconut sugar if you desire. I would not take out all of the sugar for coconut sugar as this recipe was not intended to be made that way, and it will change the overall bake color and texture a bit.

Muffin Variations

These muffins are fabulous as is, but if you want to vary how you serve or make them, feel free to consider the following ideas:

• Make a Loaf - instead of making individual muffins, you can pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake it like a quick bread for breakfast.
• Make 'em mini - if you have a miniature muffin tin you can easily make these bite size for a fun little snack for your kids.

Tips for making the best muffins

After trial and error, and lots of revamping and recipe writing, here are my top three muffin tips for getting the perfect, bakery-style muffin each and every time

1. Switch from the whisk when mixing the batter to a spatula as you fold in the flour, this yields an airy texture and less chewy, as a whisk is intended to whisk volume to the eggs, and over-whisking or mixing can cause the batter to get gummy.
2. Let the muffin batter sit on the counter for an extended period of time. When the batter rests, it gives the leavening agents (baking soda, baking powder) to marry and build up so that when the muffins bake, it'll aid with the texture, mouthfeel, and overall rise.
3. Leave room in between the muffins in the muffin tin itself. That might mean using more than one muffin tin to bake with. This gives the muffins some room to rise up higher and fluffier when they bake.

Ways to serve these chocolate chip sour cream muffins

Muffins are traditionally served as a grab and go bakery item, but here are some other fun and creative ways to serve them

• Place halved muffins on a platter and serve like this brunch board
• Toast them and slather a thick piece of butter on top.
• Serve in a basket and bring to a friend after they've given birth, or for a sympathy/condolence gesture.

How do I store this recipe? Can I freeze these muffins?

To Store: Place the muffins in an airtight container and store on the counter. These muffins will last for up to 3-4 days. Placing them in the fridge will actually cause them to dry out.

To Freeze: Wrap any remaining muffins, or all of them if it's meant for a batch freeze, in either plastic wrap or place in ziplock bags, labeling the date in which they were baked. They will last up to two months in the freezer. To thaw, take them out and let them defrost in the fridge overnight.

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