Costco Copycat Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Costco is good for so many things. Have a huge household and need to buy groceries in bulk? Check. Have a business that needs supplies? Check. Need to curb a huge sweet tooth? Check. The Costco bakery is one of the store's greatest gems, baking up danishes, rolls, and cookies by the dozen. And while all of these items are definitely delicious, there's one Costco bakery item that consistently holds the crown for the best offering in many households and businesses. Enter: Costco's giant muffins.

Biting into a Costco muffin is an experience like no other. The texture is on point, the flavor is great, and they're huge. They're perfect for sharing or munching on all morning long. And while the blueberry and poppy seed versions are delicious options in their own right, there's just something so incredible about Costco's chocolate muffins.

Now, you can reproduce those giant, moist, and flavorful chocolate muffins in your own kitchen with this recipe. With just a handful of ingredients, a few minutes of your time, and a whole lot of chocolate chips, you'll have freshly baked Costco copycat chocolate muffins ready at home in no time.

To develop this recipe, we took a look at the ingredients list for Costco chocolate muffins. The muffins sold at the Costco bakery contain plenty of hard-to-pronounce ingredients and preservatives such as tricalcium phosphate and xanthan gum, and they even incorporate caramel color. Mimicking a recipe based on these ingredients didn't seem like the best course of action, so we stuck with what we know. Costco's chocolate muffins are almost like biting into a piece of chocolate cake, with rich notes of moist chocolate paired with plenty of chocolate chips tucked inside.

To make these Costco copycat chocolate muffins, you'll need white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon for your dry ingredients. We opted to include cinnamon because it is actually listed on the Costco muffin label, and it adds a nice hint of baking spice flavor to the batter.

For the wet ingredients, you'll need one egg, milk, oil, and hot water. Be sure the water isn't boiling or piping hot. Plus, be sure you have plenty of chocolate chips to add into the batter and on top of your muffins.

Part of the beauty of Costco muffins is their size. Those huge muffins are recognizable anywhere, and they certainly come in handy when you need to feed a crowd. They're ideal for sharing with a friend or to enjoy all morning (or afternoon) long.

But because the original Costco muffin is about two times larger than a regular-sized muffin pan produces, this recipe calls for a jumbo muffin pan, or Texas-sized muffin pan, to achieve a muffin that's similar in size.

If you don't have a jumbo muffin pan, you can still certainly make this recipe. You can utilize a regular-sized muffin pan for this recipe instead. Make the batter the same way and scoop it into a prepared muffin or cupcake pan with 12 wells. You'll end up with 12 smaller-sized muffins that will taste just as delicious.

To make these Costco copycat chocolate muffins, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Next, prepare a jumbo-sized muffin pan with liners. Some stores sell liners just like regular sized cupcake liners for these special jumbo pans. If you can't find liners, simply spray your jumbo muffin pan with cooking spray. Be sure to coat each well of the muffin pan with plenty of cooking spray to prevent the muffins from sticking. The last thing you want is to prepare your muffins and not be able to get them out of the pan to enjoy.

Once your pan is ready and your oven is on, it's time to prepare the batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Turn the mixer on medium speed, and mix the dry ingredients until well incorporated.

Once all of your dry ingredients for your Costco copycat chocolate muffins have been mixed together well, it's time to add in the wet ingredients. With the mixer running on medium speed, add in the egg and allow it to begin incorporating into the mixture before adding in the milk and oil. Once the egg is just incorporated, gradually add in the milk, and then slowly add in the oil while the mixer is running. Mix in the liquid ingredients until just incorporated. You'll want to be careful not to over-mix the batter at this step. Over-mixing the batter can cause the gluten in the flour to develop too much, ultimately resulting in a dry muffin.

Once the wet ingredients are just incorporated, remove the bowl from your stand mixer to be able to easily stir in the water and chocolate chips in the next step. 

With the egg, milk, and oil incorporated into the mixture, it's time to finish the batter. Heat up a half cup of water in the microwave so it's quite hot. You don't want it boiling or piping hot for this step, but hotter than lukewarm is best.

With the mixing bowl removed from the stand mixer, gradually stir the hot water into the batter with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Doing this will add great moisture to your muffins. Once the hot water is fully incorporated, add the chocolate chips into the batter. Stir in the chocolate chips completely.

We chose to add ¾ cup chocolate chips to this muffin recipe to be sure there was a good ratio of chocolate chips throughout the muffins. However, that amount can certainly be increased if you love chocolate chips in every bite.

With your muffin pan prepared and your oven at 350 degrees, you're ready to bake these muffins. Use a measuring cup or another scoop to put the muffin batter in the wells of the muffin pan. You'll want to fill each muffin well just above half-way full with batter. Then, sprinkle with additional chocolate chips on top.

Bake your muffins for 23 to 25 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. You'll be able to tell when the muffins are done by looking at the tops. If the batter is no longer gooey, they're done.

To be certain your muffins are done baking, you can use a toothpick to test them. Insert the toothpick gently in the top of a muffin. If it comes out clean or with just a bit of crumb, the muffins are done. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool fully before eating.