Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or lightly grease each cup so nothing sticks later

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Stir well until the mixture is evenly combined and you don’t see streaks of cocoa powder.

Pour in the soy milk, melted vegan butter, and apple cider vinegar. Make sure the butter has cooled slightly so it doesn’t cook anything on contact.

Stir everything together gently until you get a smooth, thick batter. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so no dry pockets are hiding. Stop mixing as soon as it’s combined, overmixing makes muffins heavy.

Add the vegan chocolate chips and fold them in with a few slow turns of your spoon so they’re evenly spread through the batter.

Spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. If you want that bakery-style look, toss a few extra chocolate chips right on top.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18–22 minutes, until the tops look set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.