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This basic muffin recipe makes tall, bakery-style muffins with any add-ins you’d like! Yields, tender, fluffy, and deeply flavored muffins with a batter that comes together quickly and easily. Includes instructions for standard, mini, and jumbo muffin tins. Don’t miss the how-to video!
Anything-But-Basic Muffin Recipe
Every baker needs a solid basic muffin recipe in their collection, and today I’m proud to be sharing mine. Don’t let the name fool you–this recipe makes the most stunning muffins with gorgeous, tall tops and perfectly moist, fluffy interiors. Even better, it can be adapted to suit whatever add-ins you like!
I’ve recently updated this recipe to use the same base as my beloved blueberry muffin recipe. While the original version was good, I felt there was a little room for improvement. This new and improved version went through vigorous blind taste tests until we absolutely nailed the rise, flavor and softness.
Why This Recipe WORKS
One recipe, endless variations. As-is, this recipe makes incredible vanilla muffins; however, I like using it as a starting point and then add my favorite additions like fresh or frozen fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips for chocolate chip muffins.
Bakery-style results. Despite their name, these muffins are anything but basic! I’ve shared all of my favorite tips and tricks for bakery-style muffins, like resting the batter and adding a sprinkle of sugar before baking.
Two temperatures are better than one. We start with a very hot oven to give the muffins a nice rise, then drop the temperature to finish baking without drying out our muffins. This gives us tall muffin tops with soft, fluffy centers. I learned this trick for using two temperatures years ago, and it’s made all the difference in my muffin recipes!
Thicker vs. thinner batter. A thicker batter means your add-ins stay suspended (no sinking berries or need to dust them with flour!) and encourages rounded muffin tops. Seriously, do not be alarmed when your batter is SUPER thick!
If you were a fan of my original basic muffin recipe, I’ve still linked to it in the recipe card. But I’d really love for you to try this new and improved version!
Ingredients
There are a few key ingredients that make this muffin recipe anything-but-basic. I’ll review them before we get started!
Flour. Be careful when measuring and make sure you don’t accidentally over-measure, or your muffins may turn out dry. I have a post on how to measure flour if you need to brush up on this skill.
Cornstarch. Cornstarch is my secret ingredient for a soft, tender crumb. It plays a role in some of my most popular recipes (including my lemon blueberry cake and best chocolate chip cookies) and helps make the batter thick and the resulting texture soft and fluffy.
Butter and oil. The dream team for moist AND flavorful results! Using all butter would make for flavorful muffins, but they’d be on the dry side. All oil would make for very moist muffins, but they’d be missing flavor. Pairing the two together is the way to go (and a trick I use in my vanilla cake recipe, too)!
Sour cream. I previously used buttermilk in this recipe, but I’ve since updated it to use sour cream. Sour cream yields a thicker batter and has a slight advantage when it comes to moisture and flavor (two very important muffin characteristics, as you can see!). I suspect plain, full-fat Greek yogurt would work here as well (but sour cream has the edge on flavor).
Add-ins (optional). Like chocolate chips, nuts, fresh berries, etc. Frozen fruit will work here too, but you may need to extend the bake time by a few minutes. Do NOT thaw frozen fruit before adding it to the batter; add it frozen.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Sam’s Tip
If you plan to add nuts to your muffins, give them a toast first. It boosts their flavor and makes such a difference! You can use the instructions in my post on how to toast pecans for any nuts, not just pecans.
How to Make Muffins
Make & rest the batter. Prep the batter by first combining the sugar with the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl or large measuring cup, then use a spatula to gently fold them into the flour mixture. When everything is about 50% combined (to avoid over-mixing!, fold in your add-ins. If you have time, cover and let the batter rest for up to an hour.
Bake & cool. Divide the batter (it will be VERY thick!) into a lined muffin tin. Bake for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature and continue baking until the tops are lightly golden brown and the centers are baked through (a toothpick should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter). Don’t let your muffins sit in the hot pan for too long, or you’ll end up with greasy muffin liners. Leave them for about 7 minutes, then carefully remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Sam’s Tip
Over-baking is the quickest way to dry out your muffins. Always start with just a little less baking time than you think you need (just in case your oven is running too hot!). You can always add another minute or two if needed.
Sam’s Tips for Bakery-Style Muffins
All of the muffins above are made from the same batter, but they have completely different looks (and in some cases, texture/flavor!). Here are my favorite tips for transforming this basic muffin recipe into a bakery-style muffin recipe!
Rest the batter. Resting the batter is the *best* way to get the ultimate texture, appearance, and even flavor from this recipe. Similar to resting a pancake batter, it encourages the muffins to rise nice and tall with a beautiful fluffy texture. It also gives the flavors time to develop. You can see the difference in the photo above; the first and third muffin compare unrested vs. rested results.
Alternate muffins. Portion your batter into every other cavity in your muffin pan (you’ll need two muffin tins, or to bake the muffins separately); it encourages them to rise even higher. It’s magical! 🪄
Double-up the batter. Want a jumbo muffin look, but don’t have a fancy muffin tin? You can still make oversized, bakery-style muffins in a standard muffin tin (the fourth muffin in the photo above) by doubling up the batter. To do this, simply portion your batter into 6 liners instead of 12. Make sure to alternate the liners if you do, otherwise the muffins will bake into each other and flatten out instead of baking upwards.
Sprinkle with sugar. Add a bit of coarse sugar (turbinado or baker’s sugar) over the muffins before baking. This is an easy way to give your muffins a bakery-style upgrade! Or, get even fancier and drizzle or dip your muffins in vanilla glaze or lemon glaze after they’ve cooled!
Bonus tip: use my parchment paper muffin liners to really emulate those bakery muffins.
You can also make this recipe in different-sized muffin tins; I include baking instructions for mini and jumbo muffins in the recipe notes below.
Frequently Asked Questions
This basic muffin recipe is specifically designed to accommodate add-ins that won’t change the base muffin recipe itself. If you’re looking to do something a bit more radical, like adding bananas or making the base chocolate, I recommend you use my specific recipes for banana muffins, lemon muffins, or double chocolate muffins instead.
I’ve warned about the dangers of over-mixing when making staples like buttermilk pancakes and vanilla cake, but it’s just as important when making muffins. Stirring too much will almost always result in dense, dry muffins.
Instead, use a spoon or spatula (never an electric mixer) to gently fold together your wet and dry ingredients. If you’re adding any add-ins, toss them into the batter once the wet and dry ingredients are about halfway combined (to avoid running the risk of over-mixing). A few flour streaks in your batter is A-OK.
Using the right ingredients (butter and oil, cornstarch, sour cream, etc.), stirring the batter until it’s just combined (meaning don’t over-mix!), resting the batter before baking, and using two oven temperatures are all key to a really good muffin recipe that yields soft, tender, flavorful and bakery-style results.
More Recipes to Try:
Please leave me a comment if you try this recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it, and what flavor combinations you come up with!
Enjoy!
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Preheat oven to 425F (215C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners (muffins can also be made bakery-style or in different sized tins, see note). Set aside.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until well combined.
1 ¾ cup (220 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
In a separate mixing bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together melted butter and oil. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract then add sour cream and whisk until well combined.
¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold together until batter is about 50% combined. Add any add-ins you are using and continue to stir until batter is completely combined and add-ins are well distributed. Don’t over-mix or the muffins could be dense/dry.
1 ½ cups your favorite add-ins
Optional rest for taller muffin tops: If desired, cover batter with a clean towel and allow to rest for 15-60 minutes before proceeding.
Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle with granulated sugar, if using, and transfer to center rack of 425F (215C) preheated oven. Bake muffins for 8 minutes and then, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C) and continue to bake another 10-12 minutes longer, until the tops are a light golden color and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Note that if you used frozen berries the muffins sometimes take a few minutes longer, I begin checking after 12 minutes.
1 Tablespoon Granulated sugar or coarse sugar for sprinkling on top
Allow muffins to cool in the tin for 7 minutes, then carefully remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Muffins that cool completely in the tin are prone to slightly overbaking (meaning they end up dry) and the bottoms become soggy and greasy. Enjoy!
Different sized muffins
Make them in a mini muffin tin: Bake on 375F (190C) for 12-14 minutes. Recipe makes 48 mini muffins.
Make them in a jumbo muffin tin: Bake in a jumbo muffin tin on 425F (215C) for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C) and bake for 15 minutes longer/until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make them big/bakery style in a regular 12-count muffin tin: Divide all of the batter into just 6 wells (it will seem like a lot, that’s fine!), filling every other well. Bake on 425F (215C) for 8 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake 18 minutes longer/until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Resting the batter
This is optional, it helps give the muffins taller muffin tops. Let the batter rest for up to one hour.
Add streusel
You can use my streusel recipe to top the muffins. Muffins with streusel sometimes take an extra minute or two to bake. This recipe is especially good with toasted pecans in the batter and streusel on top, one of my favorite combos!
Adding frozen fruit
If you are adding frozen fruit the muffins typically take a few minutes longer to bake.
Flavor variation suggestion:
I like to add 1 ½ cups chopped pecans and top the muffins with my streusel crumb topping!
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or wrap tightly and freeze for up to a month. Allow to thaw completely before unwrapping (to help retain best texture).
Recipe updated
I originally published this recipe nearly 10 years ago but have since made a few tweaks to improve upon it. If you’re looking for it, you can find the old recipe here.
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 257IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
