Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives these high altitude double chocolate muffins their rich color and flavor, and sour cream keeps them deliciously soft, tender and moist. Dark chocolate chips add an extra hit of chocolate in every bite!
Looking for more high altitude muffin recipes? You’ll love these sweet potato maple crumb muffins, apple spice crumb muffins, banana pecan muffins and almond poppy seed muffins.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. This is a very easy recipe that’s quick to mix up. Since our mornings are busy with two hungry little boys, I like to measure and prep my ingredients the night before. I sift together my dry ingredients, and then whisk the wet ingredients separately. In the morning, all I have to do is mix them together, and the batter is ready to be scooped into the muffin pan and baked.
Adaptable. What’s really great about this recipe is how adaptable it is to a variety of ingredients that you have on hand. If you don’t have sour cream, you can easily substitute plain Greek yogurt, buttermilk, or even a combination of all three. No oil in your pantry? Use melted butter instead, or even unsweetened applesauce. The batter is thick and the muffins rise so nicely with perfect muffin tops. These are best served warm, and are still great the next day, re-warmed or briefly toasted. Cherry jam goes wonderfully with these chocolate muffins.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Sour Cream + Milk. The fat in the milk and sour cream adds tenderness and moisture to these chocolate muffins.
- Vegetable Oil. Adds moisture.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Eggs. Gives the muffins structure.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Flour. All-purpose flour gives the muffins structure and strength.
- Cocoa Powder. The chocolate flavor and deep color in these muffins comes from unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so that the muffins rise as they bake.
- Salt. Enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
- Chocolate Chips. Adds delicious, melty pools of chocolate all through the muffins.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a standard-sized muffin pan with 14 paper liners, and lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and use a spatula to stir the batter together just until moistened, being careful not to over-mix.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them full. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
- When you put the muffins in the oven, immediately turn the heat down from 425 to 375. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, just until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it. Be careful not to over-bake the muffins, or they can dry out.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool for about 10 more minutes. Enjoy the muffins warm.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use natural cocoa powder instead of Dutch-processed?
The acidity level is different, which affects how the muffins rise. I haven’t tested this recipe with natural cocoa powder, and I recommend using Dutch-processed for the best results.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes, sour cream and unsweetened plain Greek yogurt are pretty much interchangeable in recipes, although I like the flavor of the sour cream more.
How long do these stay fresh?
Leftover muffins should be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. While they are best the day they’re made, they’re still delicious leftover, and should be rewarmed for 10-15 seconds in the microwave, or for several minutes in a toaster oven. These are fantastic served with butter and cherry preserves.
Why do you change the temperature from higher to lower?
By preheating the oven to 425, you give the muffins an initial burst of high heat to help the muffins rise and set the tops. So as not to burn the muffins, you need to immediately turn the heat down to 375, so the muffins can finish baking at a more moderate temperature.
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High Altitude Double Chocolate Muffins
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Muffin Pan
Ingredients
- ¾ cup full-fat sour cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a standard-sized muffin pan with 14 paper liners, and lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and use a spatula to stir the batter together just until moistened, being careful not to over-mix.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them full. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
- When you put the muffins in the oven, immediately turn the heat down from 425 to 375. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, just until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it. Be careful not to over-bake the muffins, or they can dry out.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool for about 10 more minutes. Enjoy the muffins warm.
Hi Heather…I made 3 of your muffin recipes this weekend for my church’s worship team’s breakfast…the blueberry crumble, the chocolate chip, and the double chocolate…all 3 were amazing! The blueberry are some of the best I’ve ever tasted. I added a quick powdered sugar glaze to the chocolate chip (powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla while the muffins were still warm-ish) like your photo shows…yum! The double chocolate ones I did gluten free using a 1-1 flour. Wanted to let you know they came out really great in case you or anyone that bakes GF wanted to know. I upped the fat in the recipe about 10% and let the batter rest in the muffin cups about 15 minutes before baking (important GF baking tip) and you’d never know they were GF. Your recipes are seriously top notch!
I also have a gluten allergy and saw this comment and decided to try them- they are FANTASTIC, my new comfort food
I’m so glad to hear it, and so happy it worked well with GF flour!
Finally found the one!! I’ve got a go-to recipe for other varieties but my chocolate muffins never came out quite right until I tried your recipe! I am in Bolivia at 11,500 feet. Thanks for a great recipe, these are moist and flavorful. The search is over 😄
Making these on repeat at our house! I do usually add 1/4 tsp extra salt to these, as I find it brings out the flavours a little more. At 6200 ft in Tarija Bolivia, your page is my go-to for all recipes high elevation 😊
Will they be ok as mini muffins, without changes except for cooking time?
That should be just fine.
These turned out great! I liked that they were only mildly sweet and very chocolaty. Just what I wanted.
OMG, Heather, I just made these and the house smells sooooo good! I plan on using these for the viral TikTok Gold Medal Olympic Muffins by topping them with a bit of Ganache. I used your recipe for the base muffin because I also live in Denver and need to use high altitude recipes. Thank you for a true keeper of a recipe!
That sounds fantastic with the ganache!
What is a standard size 14 cup muffin pan, and where do you get one? Many of your muffin recipes call for one. I’ve only ever seen muffin pans for twelve muffins.
You’d need to use two 12-cup muffin pans or cupcake pans, or bake the batter in batches if you only have one pan. Some muffin pans also have 24 standard sized cups.