Double Chocolate Coffee Muffins That’ll Wake Up Your Mornings

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 18-20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
Difficulty level: Beginner
Dietary tags: Vegetarian, can be made vegan or gluten-free

Double chocolate coffee muffins are about to become your new obsession—rich cocoa, bold espresso, and melty chocolate chips in every bite.

I’ve been making these muffins for three years now, ever since I accidentally added cold brew to my chocolate muffin batter and created something magical.

Now I can’t imagine making them any other way.

The coffee doesn’t just add flavor—it amplifies the chocolate like nothing else can.

You know that slightly bitter, deeply complex taste you get from really good dark chocolate?

That’s what happens here.

Why Coffee Makes Chocolate Taste Better (It’s Science)

Coffee contains compounds that literally enhance cocoa flavors on your tongue.

I’m not being dramatic when I say these taste twice as chocolatey as regular chocolate muffins.

The espresso powder dissolves completely into the batter.

You won’t taste “coffee” like you’re eating a latte.

You’ll taste more chocolate than you thought possible.

Even people who don’t drink coffee demolish these muffins.

My neighbor Karen (who only drinks herbal tea) ate three in one sitting and asked for the recipe twice because she didn’t believe I’d actually given it to her the first time.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

• Standard 12-cup muffin tin
• Paper muffin liners
• 2 mixing bowls (one large, one medium)
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Toothpick for testing

Simple alternatives:
Use a fork if you don’t have a whisk.
Grease the pan with butter if you’re out of liners.
Any two bowls work—doesn’t matter what size as long as one fits inside the other.

INGREDIENTS

Dry ingredients:

• 1¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (100g) brown sugar

Wet ingredients:

• 1 large egg (or 3 tablespoons aquafaba for vegan)
• ¾ cup (180ml) whole milk (or any plant milk)
• ½ cup (120ml) brewed coffee, cooled
• 6 tablespoons (85g) melted butter (or coconut oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix-ins:

• ¾ cup (130g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Common substitutions:
Use cold brew instead of regular coffee for smoother flavor.
Swap Dutch-process cocoa for natural cocoa (the color will be darker).
Replace half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat for nuttier taste.
Try dark chocolate chips if you want less sweetness.

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
Line your muffin tin with paper liners.

2. Brew your coffee and let it cool completely.
Hot coffee will scramble the egg in step 6.
I usually make this the night before and keep it in the fridge.

3. Sift the cocoa powder and flour together into your large bowl.
This removes lumps that’ll never break up once the batter is mixed.
I learned this the hard way—nobody wants cocoa powder grenades exploding in their mouth.

4. Add espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and both sugars to the flour mixture.
Whisk everything together for 30 seconds until evenly combined.
The espresso powder will look like tiny brown specks throughout.

5. Toss the chocolate chips into the dry ingredients.
Coating them with flour helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
This trick works for any add-ins—nuts, berries, whatever.

6. In your medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, cooled coffee, melted butter, and vanilla.
Make sure that butter isn’t too hot or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.
Room temperature or slightly warm is perfect.

7. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients.
Here’s where most people mess up.

8. Fold together with a rubber spatula using exactly 12-15 strokes.
Stop when you still see small streaks of flour.
The batter should look lumpy and thick—almost like cookie dough.

If your batter looks smooth, you’ve overmixed.
Overmixed batter = tough, dense muffins with tunnels running through them.
I’d rather have a few flour streaks than rubbery muffins.

9. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.
Fill each about ⅔ full—they’ll rise to just above the rim.
An ice cream scoop makes this stupidly easy and ensures they’re all the same size.

10. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Don’t wait for a completely clean toothpick—that means they’re already overdone.

11. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Then transfer to a wire rack.

The tops should have small cracks and look slightly domed.
They’ll smell like a fancy coffee shop.

CRUCIAL TIPS

The batter will look wrong.
It’s supposed to be thick and lumpy.
Resist every urge to keep stirring.

Use room temperature ingredients.
Cold eggs and milk don’t incorporate well with melted butter.
You’ll end up with butter chunks floating around.

Don’t skip the espresso powder.
It’s not the same as instant coffee (though that works in a pinch).
Get instant espresso powder—it’s like $7 and lasts forever.

The cooling step matters.
Muffins continue cooking from residual heat.
Leave them in the hot pan too long and you’ll have dry muffins.

My Three-Year Journey With This Recipe

I’ve made these muffins at least 50 times.

The first batch was an accident.
I meant to make regular chocolate muffins but grabbed cold brew instead of milk.

The second batch I