We Tried Costco Muffins To See If They Live Up To The Hype

After holding out for far too long, my family recently became Costco members, drawn initially to the fact that it is more affordable than regular grocery stores. But since we joined, we discovered that we've been loving stocking our kitchen with new favorites. On our second visit, we discovered the Kirkland Signature muffins, nestled amongst the other sweet bakery desserts. And though I love making fresh muffins at home, these definitely have the ability to free up some baking time.

I must say, the first batch we brought home were gone in less than a week. Between my husband and I, there was no better choice for breakfast, so we went back to Costco mid-week for more. I enjoyed the first round of muffins, but I wanted to know if it was a fluke, or if these really were just that tasty. So, on the next trip, I scooped up one package of each flavor and put them to a taste test. I was able to wrangle four available flavors: blueberry cream, lemon raspberry, cinnamon chip, and corn.

There was only one way to find out if these are worth hanging up your apron for. Over the next week, I sampled the different flavors to determine if these are a must on your next Costco run.

My very first time walking into the bakery at Costco, I was thrilled by the options. On tables and in cooler cases, you'll find a host of different cakes. These aren't just your typical chocolate or vanilla sheet cake, and you won't necessarily find the same limited-time treats at all Costco locations. We saw tiramisu cheesecake and even holiday-themed tuxedo cakes. On Saint Patrick's Day, my family purchased a tuxedo cake with a green shamrock piped on the top. The attention to detail and packaging is nothing short of impressive. From the shopping floor, you can see a kitchen with massive ovens and mixers. Clearly, this stuff is made in house.

Need a whole lot of frosting for your next cake? Costco sells huge tubs of frosting in a variety of colors. At my location, it's located right underneath all of the freshly baked bread.

While the rest of the bakery is impressive, I must admit that the first things that drew me in were the muffin options. All placed together on one table, you'll see muffins containers stacked quite high. Nearby, there are danishes and breakfast breads. When I was first choosing a muffin to try, one of the Costco bakers was arranging packaging and told me that the muffins are made from fresh ingredients. Apparently, the recipes had also recently switched from oil to real butter.

To find these muffins, walk toward the back of the store. You'll find an area with a bakery, butcher, and deli. At the time of writing and sampling, at my location, Costco employees bake up fresh muffins under the Kirkland Signature brand in four flavors: blueberry cream, lemon raspberry, corn, and cinnamon chip, though it seems other flavors like almond poppyseed were once available. These freshly made muffins (though not necessary made from scratch) come in a clamshell-style clear plastic container. Each muffin is wrapped in a parchment-style muffin cup and comes in a pack of eight for $6.99, though prices may vary based on location.

With the parchment wrapping, the muffins have something of a rustic, freshly made look to them, ideal for a breakfast spread at your next gathering. I can imagine these being an ideal item to bring to your next morning meeting or even as part of an artful arrangement at your next brunch. The flavors have enough variance that most people can find something they'll enjoy.

Curiously, Costco does not print nutrition information right on the package for many bakery items. Instead, you can view a chart at the store that lists the nutrient information or try reaching out to Costco on its website chat feature.

I didn't know that these boxes didn't have nutritional information before leaving the store and no longer had access to the chart after leaving the store, so I reached out online for the intel. An associate, Jordan D., was able to look up the nutritional information for me. The blueberry cream muffins contain 460 calories with 28 grams of sugar and 25 grams of fat, while the lemon raspberry clocked in slightly lighter at 420 calories, 25 grams of sugar, and 23 grams of fat. Of the three breakfast flavors, cinnamon chip is the heaviest, sharing the same calorie count as blueberry cream, but with 31 grams of sugar and 26 grams of fat. Corn muffins have the fewest calories at 290, less sugar with 21 grams, and more fat at 32 grams.

Ingredients, on the other hand, are printed on the package. Interestingly, the corn muffins have sugar listed as the first ingredient. The other options begin (predictably so) with bleached enriched flour. Following that, each of the breakfast type flavors had their namesake ingredient as the second main ingredient, making it clear that the lemon raspberry and blueberry clearly have real fruit among the ingredients.

I've heard of peaches and cream, but blueberry cream was a new one to me. I assumed that it must mean that the muffin would be extra moist, and this certainly turned out to be the case. Along with the blueberries, these muffins have large pieces of a crumbly, strudel-like topping across the top. As soon as you split one open, you see the plump blueberries cooked right into the muffin, somehow deflated and juicy at the same time, like any good blueberry pastry.

The blueberry cream muffin was so moist, it needed no additional butter or margarine. It was perfectly fine just out of the package. While I would typically advocate for freshly cooked blueberry muffins whenever possible, these are just as enjoyable, if not more so, than any other freshly made muffin I've ever had.

On one of our first visits as newly minted members, the lemon raspberry flavor pulled my attention right away. This was no simple lemon or raspberry muffin, and having them at the same time was an unexpected delight.

Like the blueberry cream, they are very moist, though a little less so than blueberry cream. Even still, the flavor here is even better. I found that the lemon is very subtle, providing just enough tang to the muffin. For raspberry, you get that full berry flavor, even picking up on some raspberry seeds every other bite. Some might find this a little less enjoyable, but I find that it actually makes the lemon raspberry flavor more appealing, and it's details like this that make the lemon raspberry enjoyable and crave-worthy.

Growing up, my family ate boxed cornbread. It came with instructions for simply preparation and while it was convenient and even came with its very own little paper tray for cooking, it was always dry and needed more flavor. For this reason, I've never enjoyed cornbread. However, I feel I've been severely missing out, and these corn muffins from Costco might just be healing this childhood injustice — at least in terms of moisture.

Unlike the other flavors, which feel heavily directed toward a sweet breakfast, the corn muffins feel like the ideal accompaniment for a heavy, rich dinner of chili or jambalaya. That said, I recognize that some might find them a little too sweet. They definitely have a sugariness to them that is wholly apart from the dry cornbread of my past, but I still find them easy to enjoy.

After initially purchasing those lemon raspberry muffins, at the check-out, the cashier had asked if my family had tried the cinnamon chip flavor. This being our first muffin trial, we hadn't, but the cashier sold us, explaining that they were fantastic. On our next visit, we picked some up.

Of all the flavors we had access to, I think this one is my favorite. Like the others, it's moist, but the flavor is a blend of sweet and cinnamon spicy that was comforting and familiar, like digging into that freshly made cinnamon sugar pop tart straight from the toaster, but in muffin form. Those flavors, but in a perfectly moist bite, are just all the better. The "chip" part of the name likely points to the cinnamon dots throughout the muffin that are little pockets of flavor, rather than any kind of chip that might be harder within the muffin.

Simply put: Yes, these are worth a try. I recommend being adventurous with every single flavor, but exercise some restraint. Do not purchase them all at once. Instead, purchase one or two flavors at a time. That way, they won't go bad before you've eaten them, and your food won't be wasted. Instead, even if they are unsold at Costco, they may be donated. Based on the indicated sell-by date on the package, we found them starting to look a little moldy two days after the sell by date. That meant we had about a week to enjoy the package.

While these muffins are delicious right from the package, I found them even better heated up. They don't need long; just pop one in the microwave for about 15 seconds. The cinnamon chip flavor was especially good this way.

I look forward to sampling other flavors that might come out, but to my tastes, these were an excellent first showing. With the degree to which I enjoyed these, I'm nothing but excited to explore other breakfast pastry options at Costco; those apple danishes are calling my name.

To determine if these muffins were worth trying, I bought all four flavors and brought them home. Then, over the course of several days, my family ate off of them, most of the time for breakfast, though we found they made a great snack, too. We tried them over the course of a week to see if they would keep their texture and flavor.

Ultimately, I made my decision based on my own experiences (and my family's) over the moistness of the muffins and their taste. I was looking for muffins that were moist and remained that way and those that would have an enjoyable, even crave-worthy flavor, each morning.