The Ultimate Moist Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

These incredibly moist chocolate muffins are swirled generously with creamy peanut butter, creating a rich, decadent treat that’s truly hard to resist. After spending ages tweaking muffin recipes, I’ve finally landed on this one, and I’m so excited to share my secrets for getting those perfect bakery style results at home. Honestly, they are just fantastic, combining two classic flavors into one perfect bite.

The Best Ever Peanut Butter Chocolate Muffins

I’m thrilled to share another winner for your muffin recipe collection. If you adore peanut butter, prepare yourself, because these might just be the ultimate chocolate peanut butter muffins you’ll ever bake. And if you’re like me and believe chocolate and peanut butter belong together, you’re in for a real treat. Seriously, who can resist that combination?

Featuring smooth peanut butter and deep cocoa powder flavor, these homemade muffins bake up wonderfully moist and tender every single time. My big goal during all my muffin experiments was always clear. I wanted to develop recipes you could easily follow at home, even with zero baking experience, that would give professional bakeries a run for their money.

With that goal driving me, I’ve refined this chocolate peanut butter muffin recipe down to seven simple steps. Following them guarantees success.

I personally think muffins are fantastic any time. They work beautifully for breakfast, make a perfect afternoon snack, satisfy as an after dinner dessert, or maybe best of all, serve as that late night indulgence when a chocolate craving hits hard.

Make sure you keep reading below. I’m sharing all my essential tips for things like measuring flour correctly, achieving those impressive domed muffin tops, and ensuring your muffins are perfectly moist.

Reasons You Will Adore These Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

• The ideal mix of rich chocolate and creamy peanut butter tastes
• Wonderful for snacks, desserts, or satisfying late night cravings
• Made using common ingredients you likely have already
• Creates moist, soft muffins with a lovely tender texture
• Achieves tall, beautifully domed muffin tops just like a bakery

What Goes Into This Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins Recipe

The ingredients for these muffins are mostly simple items you probably keep in your pantry. Together, they create unbelievably delicious muffins.

Read on for all my go to muffin techniques, including the secrets to getting those gorgeous, high rising bakery style domes on your muffin tops. You’ll find the complete recipe with exact measurements and instructions further down.

• All purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Granulated sugar
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Large eggs
• Buttermilk (room temperature works best)
• Vegetable oil
• Vanilla extract
• Creamy peanut butter

Making Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins Step By Step

If you follow my seven straightforward steps outlined here, you’ll end up with wonderfully moist muffins boasting those signature bakery style domed tops. Keep scrolling for all my helpful hints and tricks, plus the full recipe card awaits at the end of this post.

1. First, grab a medium sized bowl. Combine the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in it. Whisk these dry ingredients together well to break up any clumps. Set this bowl aside for a moment.
2. Next, get a larger mixing bowl. Into this bowl, add the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and pure vanilla extract. Stir these wet ingredients together just until they are combined. Don’t overmix here.
3. Now, gradually pour the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients in the larger bowl. Mix everything together gently. Stop mixing as soon as most of the flour streaks have disappeared. You want to be careful not to overmix the batter. Expect the batter to be quite thick at this stage.
4. Cover the bowl loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Let the batter rest undisturbed at room temperature for 15 minutes. While the batter is resting, go ahead and preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
5. To get those bakery style muffins, prepare a standard 12 cup muffin pan. Place paper liners in only 6 of the cups, alternating them (leave every other cup empty). This spacing helps the muffins rise taller. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter into the bottom of each prepared liner.
6. Gently warm the creamy peanut butter in your microwave for about 15 to 20 seconds. You just want it slightly softened and easy to drizzle. Drop approximately half a tablespoon of this warmed peanut butter into each muffin cup, right on top of the batter. Take a toothpick or a thin skewer and gently swirl the peanut butter into the chocolate batter below. Then, carefully spoon about 4 to 6 more tablespoons of chocolate batter over the peanut butter swirl, covering it completely.
7. Add another half tablespoon of the warmed peanut butter on top of the batter in each cup. Use your toothpick again to create a pretty swirl pattern on the surface. Place the muffin pan carefully into the center of your preheated oven. Bake for exactly 7 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). After 7 minutes, keep the muffins inside the oven but immediately reduce the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue baking for another 12 to 14 minutes. You’ll know the muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of a chocolate section comes out clean (a little melted peanut butter sticking to it is perfectly fine). Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the filling and baking process with the remaining batter, remembering to turn the oven temperature back up to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) before baking the second batch.

Achieving Those Perfect Bakery Style Muffin Tops

You know those beautiful, high domed muffin tops you see in bakeries? Getting them at home is easier than you think. I rely on a few specific techniques that really help these muffins puff up tall and proud.

1. Give the Batter a Rest
   Letting the prepared batter sit for about 15 minutes before you scoop it is a crucial step. During this short rest, the flour absorbs more liquid, which thickens the batter significantly. This thicker consistency helps the muffins climb upwards when they bake instead of spreading outwards too quickly. It’s a simple pause that makes a big difference.
2. Space Out Your Muffins
   This tip was a real breakthrough for me. Instead of filling every cup in your 12 count muffin pan, use only six liners placed in every other cup. Leaving that extra space allows hot air to circulate more freely around each muffin. This encourages them to dome up nicely without bumping into their neighbors. It also helps the tops get that lovely golden brown color.
3. Fill the Liners Generously
   Fill those muffin liners almost all the way to the top with batter. I know this might sound counterintuitive compared to standard cupcake advice, but for muffins, it’s key to getting that impressive height. Don’t be shy with the batter.
4. Start Baking Hot, Then Reduce Heat
   Begin baking the muffins at a higher temperature, specifically 425 degrees F. This initial blast of heat causes the batter to rise very quickly, creating a sort of crust on the outside that sets the domed shape early on. After the first few minutes, you’ll reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F to allow the insides to cook through evenly without burning the tops.

Getting Your Flour Measurement Just Right

Measuring flour accurately is one of the most important steps for successful baking. Using too much or too little can really affect the final texture of your muffins. The absolute best way to measure flour is by weight using a digital kitchen scale. Grams offer the most precision.

If you don’t have a kitchen scale, don’t worry. You can still get a good measurement using measuring cups if you follow this spoon and level method carefully.

First, fluff up the flour in its container or bag using a whisk or a spoon. Flour tends to settle and become compacted over time, so aerating it like this makes it lighter. Please note this is different from sifting. Don’t sift the flour unless a recipe specifically tells you to.

Next, use a large spoon to gently sprinkle the fluffed flour into your measuring cup. Keep spooning it in until the cup is overflowing slightly. Avoid scooping directly with the measuring cup, as this packs the flour down. Also, resist the urge to tap the cup on the counter, which also compacts the flour.

Finally, take the straight edge of a butter knife or an offset spatula and sweep it across the top of the measuring cup. This levels off the excess flour perfectly, leaving you with a much more accurate measurement than scooping.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

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