Giant Costco Copycat Gluten Free Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate cherry is one of my favorite fruit + chocolate combos (check out this chocolate cherry cake for more). I used to really dislike that artificial cherry flavor – the one that’s packed into those cherry-filled chocolate truffles or just maraschino cherries on or in anything, but my taste buds seemed to have welcomed the flavor with open arms in the past few years especially. I’m now a HUGE maraschino cherry fan (these spumponi cupcakes were an absolute DREAM), and I just found out about cherry chip cake, which is apparently a popular flavor in the midwest? So I’ll be making that soon in cake or cupcake form. But cherries in general are a favorite, so when I was thinking of more giant muffin flavors and hit a road block, the giant clamshell of sweet cherries that I’d just gotten at Costco caught my eye and it was an instant aha moment. So here I give you these giant gluten free cherry chocolate chip muffins in all their glory!

For those of you just now joining in the fun, we’ve had a thing for GIANT muffins for 2+ months now – spurred by the craving for those giant Costco muffins we used to get as kids (pre-Celiac diagnosis) and that we haven’t had in about 17 years and counting. So far we’ve made these giant poppyseed muffins, giant blueberry muffins, giant chocolate chip muffins, giant double chocolate muffins, giant banana nut muffins, and giant strawberry rhubarb muffins. And now these giant gluten free cherry chocolate chip muffins! So what’s next? We’ve got a few ideas, but please give us more because we don’t see this Sunday/Monday baking project ending anytime soon and we’ve exhausted the inspiration our local Coscto’s bakery section can give us.

Tips for Fantastic Giant Muffins

A few tips for getting these to turn out just like you remember those Costco muffins:

• Use the right-size of pan! Apparently, Costco keeps their giant muffin pans as a trade secret because we can’t find them ANYWHERE on the internet and you can find EVERYTHING on the internet. Bravo, Costco, for a secret well-kept. However, we’ve found a way to crack the code and gone ahead and just used these brilliant 4-inch cake pans because, after careful inspection, we’ve discovered that Costco muffins are exactly 4-inches in diameter! HA! Take that, Costco-bakery-lords. I never thought I’d be regularly using 4-inch cake pans but here we are. I’ll just need to make a bunch of tiny cake recipes next!
• Let your batter REST, per the recipe, for at least 30 minutes. For two reasons: 1) the batter thickens as it rests which is incredibly important for a muffin filled with heavy chunks of fruit! A thicker batter will help suspend all of the sliced cherries + chocolate chips all throughout your muffins, ensuring every bite has the perfect ratio of fluffy muffin to fruit; and 2) something somewhere said that baking powder needs a bit more time to “activate.” Don’t quote me on this, who knows if it’s actually true.
• Don’t over-mix your batter! Muffins need a lot of lift, especially these giant ones, and if you over-mix your batter, you’ll end up with flat or sunken muffins which is no fun.
• Use a good 1-1 gluten free flour mix! We use the Bob’s Red Mill one (the baking mix), though we’ve heard good things about Cup-4-Cup. We’ve only tested this recipe with this one so if you want them to turn out exactly like ours, we recommend snagging a bag of that specific 1-1 gluten free flour.
• Do NOT open the oven door during baking time. Tape it shut if you have to! You can certainly turn on the oven light and peek and the gloriousness that is a set of rising muffins nearly-ready to be devoured, but do not open that door! Opening the door will immediately lower the oven temp and prohibit your muffins from rising correctly. If you’re in the last few minutes of baking and need to test to see if they’re done, open the oven just a tiny bit and reach in and just tap the top of one – if it springs back it’s done, if it presses in like a foam mattress topper, it’s not and needs a couple more minutes!
• These will keep in an airtight container (or in ziplock baggies) for a week or so – and they freeze REALLY well! So if you want to make a batch and save a bunch, put them in a sturdy plastic container or a freezer plastic bag and pop them in there. Then microwave for about 30-45 seconds (from frozen) before eating! I even like popping mine in the microwave for 10-15 seconds from room temp to get them all warm and floofy again before eating.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Giant Gluten Free Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins

These giant Costco copycat muffins are studded with fresh summer cherries and chocolate chips!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Resting time30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: breakfast, cherry, chocolate chip, costco muffins, easy, gluten free, muffins, simple

Servings: 6 giant muffins

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Six 4-inch round cake pans (link below to the ones we use)
• Cookie sheet

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/2 Cup canola oil
• 1/2 Cup salted butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1 Cup milk
• 1/2 Cup sour cream
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
• 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips plus a few extra for the tops
• 2 Cups chopped pitted cherries instructions below, plus a few extra for the tops

Instructions

• First, make your muffin batter! It will need to rest at room temp for 30 minutes before baking. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, melted butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, almond and vanilla extracts, and sugar until thicker and smooth. Add in the gluten free 1-1 flour, sweet rice flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, and salt and whisk until totally combined and smooth. Then use a paring knife to slice fresh cherries in half and use your fingers to remove the pit. Leave the cherries in halves. Fold in the chopped cherries and the chocolate chips, then let the batter sit either on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking (you can let it rest in the fridge for longer if you want).
• Then preheat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit and grease your six 4-inch cake pans with cooking spray and place them all on a cookie tray. Carefully scoop batter evenly into the six pans and place the extra chopped cherries and chocolate chips on top (a few per muffin). Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then immediately reduce the heat (WITHOUT opening the oven door!) to 350° Fahrenheit and continue to bake for 35-40 minutes or until the muffins spring back when pressed with the tip of your finger (try to only open the oven door once and very little to check if they're done). Then remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a place or cooling rack.

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your muffins!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber