Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour (be very careful not to overmeasure)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

1 cup (240ml) milk or buttermilk , at room temperature

1/2 cup (120ml) canola oil (or vegetable oil/melted coconut oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (270g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks/dark chocolate/milk chocolate)

Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Heat oven to 425°F degrees. Spray your muffin tin of choice with non-stick spray or line with muffin liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, gently toss together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until all dry ingredients are combined – a 20-second toss to disburse everything together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until combined. Mix in milk, oil, and vanilla. Mixture will be pale and yellow. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix everything together by hand with a wooden spoon. Avoid overmixing. Gently mix until all the flour is off the bottom of the bowl and no big pockets of flour remain. The batter will be VERY thick and somewhat lumpy. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide batter among prepared muffin tins, filling all the way to the top. Top with a sprinkle coarse sugar, if preferred.  Bake at 425°F degrees for 5 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 and continue to bake for 13-14 minutes until tops are lightly golden and centers appear set. (Alternatively, for 6 jumbo muffins, bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 and continue to bake for 25-26 minutes. For 30 mini muffins, bake for 11-12 minutes at 375°F the entire time.)

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before enjoying.  Muffins taste best fresh the same day. Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

Makes 12-16 standard-sized muffins, 6 jumbo-sized muffins, or 30 mini-muffins.

From Sally’s Baking Addiction blog