Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins are rich, indulgent muffins full of chocolate flavor in each bite, perfect for chocolate lovers! Whether you are looking for a quick snack, a sweet start to your day, or a dessert option, these muffins can be a delightful choice. I also have Cream Cheese Muffins with a cream cheese swirl you will love!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Butter: Unsalted butter is creamed with cream cheese and sugar, resulting in a perfect base for tender, moist, and flavorful muffins.
Cream Cheese: Adding cream cheese to the muffin batter adds creaminess, richness, and subtle tang to the baked muffins.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk enhances the chocolate flavor in the muffins. If you don’t have any on hand, make homemade buttermilk to use!
Cocoa Powder: I added regular unsweetened cocoa powder to these muffins.
Chocolate Chips: Milk chocolate chips add pockets of melted chocolate throughout the muffins. Reserve a few to add to the tops of the muffins before baking. You could also use semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate if preferred.
When Are Muffins Done Baking?
To check the muffins for doneness, gently press the tops of the muffins; they should spring back. In addition, muffins are done baking when a clean toothpick is inserted into the muffins and comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter. If baking at high altitude, check out my High Altitude Baking Tips.
Can I Mix The Muffin Batter Ahead Of Time?
Sure! Preparing the muffin batter the night before can be convenient, especially if you want to save time the next day when baking the muffins. Once the batter has been mixed (but be careful not to overmix), cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It is best used within 24 hours. The next day, pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for a freshly baked treat!
How To Store Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins
There are a few ways to properly store muffins.
- Room Temperature: Because they are best enjoyed at room temperature, this is usually the recommended way to store them. Use a larger sealable plastic bag or an airtight container to store the muffins in a single layer. Some folks recommend adding a piece of paper towel to the bottom so that it will soak up any condensation. If your muffins are properly cooled before storing, this may not be necessary. However, if using an airtight container, I will often add a piece of bread to the container, torn in half, and fit in between the muffins. The bread will soak up moisture as well. They are best enjoyed within 2-3 days.
- Refrigerator: (Refrigeration, in general, dries out baked goods faster so a typical muffin recipe shouldn’t be refrigerated.) Place in a sealable plastic bag or airtight container and then place into the refrigerator. They should keep for up to 5 days. To reheat, remove from refrigerator and pop into the microwave for 10 seconds or just allow muffin to come to room temperature naturally, about 15 minutes.
- Freezer: Place cooled muffins into a freezer-safe sealable plastic bag or a freezer-safe airtight container and pack as closely as possible without crushing. Remove as much air as possible. Label with date and recipe name.
Cream Cheese Muffins
Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup (61 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 â…“ cups (167 g) all-purpose flour
- â…” cup (79 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (182 g) milk chocolate chips, reserving a few for topping
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in most of the chocolate chips, reserving a few for the topping.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Top muffins with reserved chocolate chips.
- Bake for 24-26 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes in the muffin tin before placing them on a wire rack.
Did you make this recipe?
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What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
We tested a few variations of this recipe, and this was the best! So chocolatey, so moist and tender, and so yummy!
Elizabeth
Wow! These chocolate muffins are such an indulgent treat that I couldn't stop eating them!!!! They are super moist and so full of chocolate flavor. YUM! And, since they are a muffin, I will unashamedly enjoy one for breakfast.
Rachael
Chocolate muffin perfection! It has a tender crumb and is perfect for chocolate lovers!
Bella
Chocolate muffins never let me down! So sweet and delicious. Each bite is soft and moist!
Annabelle
What a lovely way to make a chocolate muffin! They're moist, tender, and perfectly sweet!
Selena
Super rich and moist muffin. Just what I want in a chocolate muffin!
I usually love all the recipes, but this isn’t one of my favorites. The Tbsp of baking powder left an aftertaste and they were very dry. I expected them to be really moist with the cream cheese.
So sorry that happened! They could have been baked a little longer than needed if they were dry. Every oven is different! The “aftertaste” (we just thought it was flavor) is cream cheese…
I agree with Tetrri made these and tested them a minute before suggested time and dry flavors are good though and most of all your recipes have been a winner
Made these today…moist and delicious!!
It’s perfect, sad that not many people saw this recepie