When I first moved out of the dorms and into an apartment, I guess I didn’t realize all the things I could suddenly do once I finally had a kitchen. Naturally, I got right on top of making home-cooked dinners (goodbye forever, dorm food!) and some of my tried-and-true baking favorites. Yet somehow, I forgot all about muffins! They are so perfect to grab as before running out the door to catch the bus for campus. I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I actually bought muffins at the grocery store for nearly a year! Quite a travesty, clearly. I had never really bothered to make my own until just a couple years ago, so I’m still trying to figure out what my go-to recipes will be.

These chocolate chip muffins will probably make my list. That little half-teaspoon of cinnamon really makes them something special.

That said, I’m not entirely sold on the quick-bread method of mixing described in this recipe. I’ve made these muffins both as written (I promise I do not overmix the batter!), and by doing a sort of creaming method, and I might be leaning ever-so-slightly toward the latter. With the former, the texture leaves a little something to be desired. But don’t get me wrong — the flavor is great!

Try them soon! You don’t even need a stand mixer. Just round up a couple of mixing bowls and a spatula — and be gentle mixing the wet and dry ingredients together. Plus, you probably have all the ingredients already, anyway!

chocolate chip muffins
- slightly adapted from Bake or Break (and, evidently the McCormick website, though I can’t for the life of me find this recipe on there anywhere)

1 1/2 c AP flour, + ~1 tsp for coating the chocolate chips
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c mix of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease or line 12 muffins cups.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Lightly coat the chocolate chips in ~1 tsp flour — this keeps them from sinking to the bottom, giving equal chocolaty goodness in every bite.

they should look something like this

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened (this is important!). Stir in coated chocolate chips. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Start checking them around 15 minutes though — mine were done quite early.

Serve warm, or store in a air-tight container. Don’t forget to microwave the leftovers (if there are any) for just a few seconds before eating!

yum!