In a mixing bowl, add 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Whisk it together and set it aside.
In a larger mixing bowl, add ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup packed brown sugar, ¼ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup of melted and slightly cooled unsalted butter, ½ cup milk, and ½ cup full-fat sour cream. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and everything is fully combined.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon lemon juice and give it a quick whisk. Finally, add 2 large eggs one at a time until just combined.
Now add the dry ingredients in 2-3 additions and mix until just combined and no dry streaks are visible.
Fold in a ½ cup of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, then rough chop about 6-ounces of raspberries (about 1 ¼ cup) and fold them into the muffin batter as well.
Let the batter rest for about 15 minutes while you heat the oven.
Preheat your oven to 425°F / 220°C and either spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or add cupcake liners (I would still spray the top though).
Scoop or spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each well to the top. Place the muffin pan into the center of the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, lower the temperature to 350°F / 180° C while leaving the oven door closed. Bake for an additional 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Remove and let them finish cooling on a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature or while they are still warm.
1) Raspberries – I use a 6oz container of fresh raspberries here. Depending on their size, this should be roughly 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups. You can substitute the same amount of frozen raspberries, but don’t thaw them beforehand.2) Chocolate – I like the addition of chocolate here, especially for Valentine’s Day versions, but they’re optional. You could also swap the mini chips for regular or chunks of bittersweet, semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate instead.3) Toppings – If you’d like to add a topping for extra sweetness or texture, here’s two common options. Once you fill the muffin wells, completely cover the top of the batter with a course sugar like demerara or turbinado. Another option is a streusel topping. In a bowl, mix ½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 3 tablespoons white sugar, a pinch of salt, and ¼ cup unsalted butter that’s melted and cooled to barely warm (or use cold, cubed butter and cut it in). Apply to the top of the muffins and gently press into the batter just a bit, then bake as usual.4) Different Sizes – As written, this recipe makes 12 regular sized muffins. If you want to make jumbo muffins, use a deeper, 6-count muffin pan. Make and bake them as usual but increase the time at 350°F from 18-20 minutes to 22-25 minutes. Going in the other direction, if you wish to make these into mini muffins, use the smaller pans and skip the initial high temperature. Bake for a total of 12-14 minutes and you should end up with 3 dozen or so minis.