Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins [RECIPE]

I was bored last night, so I decided to bake something...looking around my kitchen I thought about what I could make with what I had...and decided to whip up some chocolate chip muffins.

They came out really well, so I figured I'd pass the recipe along!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (4 tbls. or half stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour (level, not densely packed!)
1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate, but semi-sweet would work too!)

Preheat oven to 325°. (My muffin tin is dark metal, but if you use a lighter tin, increase the temp to 350°.) Cream the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla and cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl. The mixture should be nice and fluffy. Beat in the egg and milk. Add the flour in, mixing just until it's all incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Lightly grease the muffin tin (I used the wrapper from the butter) or line the tin with paper cups. Divide the batter evenly, and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (chocolate is okay -- crumbs/batter is not.)

Let them cool on a wire rack...or do what I did and enjoy one piping hot and fresh out of the oven!

They are buttery on the outside, soft and nicely chewy on the inside, with a great flavor from the cinnamon. Whether you're pretending that they count as breakfast (like I did) or having one for dessert, they are definitely little crowd pleasers!

What's your favorite guilty pleasure breakfast? Tell us in the comment section below!