Double Chocolate Mall Muffins

I guess these are supposed to resemble the big-top muffins you might find at a mall bakery, but they're way, way better. Sour cream, plenty of chocolate, and a nice crunchy top come together to make a totally indulgent breakfast or snack.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup miniature chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 425. Arrange oven rack to 2nd shelf from top. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Spray top of muffin pan and liners with nonstick spray. Stack 2 baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper. Place muffin pan on prepared baking sheets.

2. In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar and then add eggs. Blend in sour cream and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend gently into batter. Once partially blended, fold in chocolate chips. If batter seems too loose, add a few T of flour (no more than 4) to make batter a bit stiffer. If batter seems too thick, stir in a bit of milk (up to 1/4 cup.)

4. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop a generous amount of batter into each muffin cup. Bake 15 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 400 and finish baking, about 12 to 14 minutes more, until muffins spring back when gently pressed with fingertips.

5. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Optional: drizzle with melted white or dark chocolate or dust with confectioners' sugar.