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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!
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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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Would this work in a loaf pan?
Hi Jenna,
Yes, that should work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
I make a lot of.muffins for my kids and they just declared “these are the best muffins I’ve ever had!!” They said they compared to the chocolate chip mini muffins they had in a package years ago “only way better” lol thanks for sharing this recipe!
Wow thank you so so much Susan! So glad you and your kids and loving these muffins! Thanks for trying them out, I hope they become a staple in your home! xT
I just made these & omitted the apple butter because I didn’t have any. They’re so incredibly delicious, fluffy, and satisfying! Thank you for sharing Tieghan + team!
Next time could I substitute non-dairy plain yogurt for plain Greek yogurt and almond milk for regular milk?
Hey Portia,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, love to hear it turned out nicely for you! Yes, both of those will work nicely for you:) xx
Also note, I did omit the apple butter as I don’t have any, and they still work great!!
So yummmm, I was out of maple syrup so I used agave it still delicious 😋
Hey Shelly,
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed! Xx
What brand apple butter do you use?
Hi Chels,
I really love making my own. Here is the recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-slow-cooker-maple-apple-butter/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT