Panera Chocolate Chip Muffies
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
These Copycat Panera Chocolate Chip Muffies are so delicious and easy to make – they’ll keep you out of the Panera Bread Drive-Thru! Light and fluffy muffin TOPS loaded with chocolate chips. These copycat muffies literally melt in your mouth!
🔍 COPYCAT SECRETS UNCOVERED!
Here’s a secret Panera doesn’t want you to know – THEY DON’T EVEN MAKE THEIR MUFFINS! They use a frozen batter product – slice it in half and put it in the oven. But guess what? I’ve got FROM SCRATCH muffins for you that are so easy to make – you’re going to want to double the recipe!
Panera Chocolate Chip Muffie Recipe Ingredients
I’m guilty of buying store-bought muffins from time-to-time – but I’ll tell you – making them from scratch – is so simple! Plus – no preservatives! You’ve got all the usual suspects here for ingredients – the vanilla and chocolate chips added so much flavor to this popular baked treat.
- Butter – I used salted because it’s what I had and they turned out delicious! You can use unsalted butter if you like. Most people do in baking – I just don’t keep it on hand.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla – be sure to use PURE vanilla extract – not imitation. McCormicks is an affordable brand that has great flavor!
- Buttermilk – mixes with the baking powder & soda to make your muffins rise and have that light fluffy texture!
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips – you could use different chips – this is what Panera’s muffins have in them
Recipe Variations for Muffies
The possibilities are endless for muffies – think of all the muffin flavors you’ve had and make them into muffies! Here are the ones I’m making next:
- Fruit – I know I’m trying them with dried, chopped blueberries this weekend!
- Pumpkin – use the batter from these Panera Pumpkin Muffins to make pumpkin muffies!
- Different Chips – those peanut butter chips are also next on my list – not sure they make them in mini – but I’ll try full size!
- Banana – I have a recipe for Rhubarb Banana Muffins I’m going to try in these pans too!
How to make Panera Chocolate Chip Muffies
First question you’re probably thinking is – do I NEED to buy a special muffin top pan? Nah – but I will say – I liked them better in the pans. But I tried both so you know either way!
Why did I like the muffin top pans better? I knew how much batter to put in and the bottoms were crispier like Panera. That said – the baking sheet ones turned out delicious as well. But I do think now that I have the pans – I’ll use them more often!
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or muffin top pans with non stick spray
- In a large mixing bowl, add sugar and softened butter. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at high speed until creamy – about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla and buttermilk until combined.
- In a separate large bowl, add in the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and mini chocolate chips.
- Add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and stir together by hand with a spatula just until combined.
- Chill the dough batter for 20 to 25 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Use a 1.5″ cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop the muffin batter into mounds on the sheets – leaving 2-3 inches between the muffins on parchment lined baking sheets – or into muffin top pans.
- To make large muffin tops, you’ll want two medium cookie scoops (1.5″ scoop) of batter. This will fill the muffin pan enough to make it full and will also hold together on the parchment paper.
- This will make 8 large muffies or 12 smaller
- Bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden. 12 minutes was about right for my oven. If you’re putting pans on two oven racks – be sure to rotate pan to opposite racks half way to ensure even baking. Test with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Although – mine all came out covered in gooey chocolate! 😉
- Let the muffin tops rest for a couple of minutes out of the oven. Then carefully remove to a cooling rack until cool.
Tips, Tricks & FAQs
A muffie is just the top of the muffin – which is – of course – the best part!
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) for up to a week. You can freeze up to three months. I also stored some in ziploc bags that I gave to friends and they stayed fresh in those as well.
No – but the bottoms come out a little crispier like the ones from Panera. You can easily use parchment paper on a baking sheet if you like.
Yes – they’ll just cook a little more quickly. Check them at 8 minutes or so instead of waiting until 10 minutes.
Yes! There are quite a few muffin top pans out there that are silicone – I chose metal because the muffies from panera had a crisp bottom I don’t find when using silicone pans. The silicone liner on a baking sheet would work fine as well to keep them from sticking.
Nope! Other versions do show cinnamon but it’s not in the Panera ingredient info on their menu so I did not include it in my recipe. If you like cinnamon though – you could add 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
Get Heather’s NEW cookbook – Air Fryer Cooking for One today!
More Muffin Recipes
More Panera Recipes
Panera Chocolate Chip Muffies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or muffin top pans with non stick spray
- In a large mixing bowl, add sugar and softened butter. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at high speed until creamy – about 2-3 minutes.1/4 cup salted butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Add the egg, vanilla and buttermilk until combined.1 large egg, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup buttermilk
- In a separate bowl, add in the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and chocolate chips.1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the wet and fold together by hand with a spatula just until combined.
- Chill the batter for 20 to 25 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Use a 2″ cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop the batter onto the sheets – leaving 2-3 inches between the muffins – or into muffin top pans. To make large muffin tops, you’ll want two medium cookie scoops (2″ scoop) of batter. This will fill the muffin pan enough to make it full and will also hold together on the parchment paper.
- Bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden. 12 minutes was about right for my oven. Test with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Although – mine all came out covered in chocolate! 😉
- Let the muffin tops rest for a couple of minutes out of the oven. Then carefully remove to a cooling rack until cool.
