Sweet & Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Among New England’s many contributions to American cooking are chocolate chip cookies, which were first invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield, then the innkeeper of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. So when we set out to develop a recipe for chocolate chip muffins, we wanted to replicate the flavor of  Wakefield’s signature creation while producing something light and fluffy enough to appeal to early morning cravings — nothing too sweet or rich.

The answer: Eliminate the brown sugar, an ingredient that produces a denser muffin and overwhelms the vanilla flavors. We also used buttermilk, which improved both the flavor and texture of the muffins.

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Total Time: 45 minutes Hands-On Time: 15 minutes Yield: 12 muffins Note: You can make a buttermilk equivalent by adding 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice to 1 cup milk.

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• 1½ cups buttermilk (see note)
• 1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on muffins

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375° and set a rack to the middle position. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan and set aside. Using a standing or handheld mixer, cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl at medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg, then the yolk, blending well after each. Add the vanilla extract and blend. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add a third of this mixture to the butter mixture and stir just to combine. Add half the buttermilk and stir just to combine. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture. Use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups (a standard ice cream scoop does a great job here) and sprinkle each muffin with 5 or 6 chocolate chips. Transfer to the oven. Bake until tops are firm and golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool for 10 more minutes before serving.