Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Muffins. Light and fluffy vanilla muffin batter made with salted butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt. Swirled with plenty of semi-sweet chocolate chips and delicious gooey brown sugar. These bakery-style muffins are completely no fuss and SO DELICIOUS! They’re a wonderful muffin to enjoy anytime and so much better than the bakery!
It’s officially back-to-school time, and even though I hated the act of actually heading back to school, I was always excited for this time of year. As a kid, it meant back-to-school shopping, getting back into a routine, hopefully having regular family dinners, and seeing the return of Gilmore Girls! Plus, of course, the colorful fall season and Halloween!
I still love this time of year for all those same reasons. Well, I wish Gilmore Girls was still airing, but thankfully, Netflix has every season!
Since it’s back-to-school time, my recipes always include ” after-school snacks” and family-style dinners.
And with snacks, bakery muffins are my favorite. I used to LOVE chocolate chip muffins. Of course, mine usually just came from Marc’s, our grocery store in Cleveland, and they were usually from Entenmann’s Bakery.
I was recently in line at Dunkin Donuts for coffee when I saw the chocolate chip muffins. Once I saw those muffins, I knew what I was going home to make—a very updated (and better) bakery-style chocolate chip muffin.
The gooey brown sugar swirl is the secret.
These are the Details
Step 1: make the muffin batter
The batter starts with melted salted butter. Since there’s no banana or peanut butter, I wanted to add a little richness and saltiness.
Then a little maple syrup to sweeten, yogurt and milk for moisture, eggs, and lots of vanilla extract.
The dry is just my basic mix: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: make the gooey brown sugar swirl
Mix everything in a bowl.
Brown sugar, apple butter, melted butter, and a pinch of salt. These will all smell so scrumptious together. If you’ve made my Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars, this is the exact filling.
It is so delicious.
Step 3: swirl the muffins
Mix in a combination of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. The variety of the two ensures a perfect chocolate muffin.
Then gently swirl the muffin batter with the gooey brown sugar.
Step 4: scoop the batter and bake
Now, just scoop the batter into paper-lined muffin cups and bake for about 25 minutes. They will come out of the oven with a little caramelization and the most delicious smell.
Is there anything more wonderful? Perfection.
Serve these with tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or even a steaming mug of cider if you’re really enjoying the cozy fall vibes.
Looking for other yummy bakery items?? Here are my favorites:
Giant Double Blueberry Muffin Cookies
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Carrot Cake Muffins
Baked Blueberry Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
Chocolate Chunk Chai Banana Muffins
Chocolate Chunk Rye Banana Bread
Easy Chocolate Cinnamon Crunch Knots
Lastly, if you make these Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Muffins, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Muffins
Servings: 16 muffins
Calories Per Serving: 362 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Brown Sugar Swirl
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup apple butter
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 16 muffin tins with paper liners.2. In a bowl, stir together the butter, maple syrup, vanilla, eggs, yogurt, and milk. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 3. To make the swirl, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Dollop it by the tablespoon over the muffin batter. Lightly swirl the mix, don't over mix it.4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the tops are just set. Enjoy warm with butter and sea salt.
This post was originally published on August 23, 2024
Not my favorite, but thanks anyway.
Absolutely delicious! I made four mini loaves, which cooked in 25 minutes. I don’t think they will last long as I watch my family devour them as I type this.
Hey Bethany,
Yay! So glad to hear that you enjoyed these muffins, thanks a lot for trying the recipe! xT
I would have loved it if you added a video. I did these yesterday and everyone loved it but I was confused about what you meant about the swirl. I just looked through your Instagram account but no luck
Hi Linda,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry, I have not made this recipe on IG just yet:) I just swirl using a knife or toothpick. xx
These look great, I can’t wait to try them! Is it possible to use vanilla Greek yogurt instead of plain? If so, would you change any other part of the recipe so as not to make them too sweet?
Hi Courtney,
I think that would work nicely for you, I’m sure they will be just fine with the recipe as written:) Please let me know if you try the muffins! xT
Hi! What’s a “bakery style” muffin? Thanks!
I do not care for apple butter. Can it be left out of the recipe?
Hi Kathryn,
Yes, that will be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Looking forward to trying these muffins! They seem perfect to pre-make at the beginning of the week so you can have a quick and delicious breakfast ready every morning of the week. Would the muffins bake the same if I use greek yogurt with protein instead of normal greek yogurt to add some protein to the muffins?
Hey Tessa,
Totally, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! xT
12 tablespoons of salted butter and 1 teaspoon of salt plus the 2 tablespoons of salted butter for the brown sugar swirl seems like an awful lot of salt. Can the 1 teaspoon of salt be omitted? Or unsalted butter used instead of salted butter?
Hi there,
Sure, you could omit the salt if you wanted:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
These look amazing! I don’t see baking soda in the ingredient list but it’s on step 2 of the instructions? Help!
Thanks so much, Ash!! You are going to use 1 teaspoon of baking soda:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Is there a substitute for apple butter?
Hey Kelly,
You can omit the apple butter:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you love this recipe! xT
It is 1/4 of a cup apple butter. If left out won’t it change the moisture content in the recipe?!
You should not have any issues:)
I’m curious what the apple butter brings to the flavor profile here.
Hey Julian,
The apple butter adds fall, cinnamon aspect to the muffins that I really love, but you could certainly leave it out. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Fall is not a flavor. Autumn doesn’t have a taste.
She said “aspect” not “flavor” or “taste”. However mentions of “fall flavors” are ubiquitous in the cooking world, as seasonal ingredients ARE a thing.
Thank you for all your recipes, they are all delicious!
Thanks so much, Tamara:) I hope you love these muffins! xT
Did you make these or is this just a random five-star review that’s there to mislead readers?
I noticed your muffins are always quite flat- is that because you don’t adjust for altitude?
Do you think this could be made in a loaf pan? If so, would it be one loaf pan or two? And how long would it bake. Thank you!
Should be fine in a loaf pan. I usually figure 12 muffins will convert to one standard loaf pan. Fill the pan with about 3/4 batter (no more). Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Baking times for loaves will vary so just start checking early using the clean toothpick trst. This recipe might convert to one standard and one mini loaf (or a few cupcakes).
*test* not trst! Also, see what Tieghan says about your question.
Hi Pam,
Yes, I would say 1 loaf pan and I would bake for 45-60 minutes. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT
Sorry, what’s a “bakery style” muffin and how is that different from a non-bakery style muffin?
Hi Jenn,
I would say a bakery style muffin is just a big jumbo muffin:) I hope you love this recipe! x