Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Name: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 19 min
Total time: 34 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour; 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 3/4 teaspoon sea salt; 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix); 2 large eggs (room temperature); 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 cup orange juice; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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Fluffy and flavorful pumpkin chocolate chip muffins filled to the brim with pools of chocolate and warm pumpkin flavor.

pumpkin muffins on wire rack with milk bottle in background

Pumpkin is one of the best parts of autumn. Not even just in my drinks or the pie. Those beautiful gourds are so cool. We love going to the farm and seeing all the types there are. For real though, pumpkin in food - when done well - is so amazing. And these pumpkin muffins? Well, these are definitely done well.

Ingredients

Flour - You should use all-purpose flour, but if you want to make these muffins a little better for you, white whole wheat flour will also work well.
Spices - We use a few of my favorite fall spices to make these muffins deliciously warm and inviting. Spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and even a little pinch of cardamom. You can also use a pumpkin spice mix.
Sugar - I typically make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with granulated sugar. On occasion, I have used brown sugar, so it is a great substitute if you don't have brown sugar available. If you want the muffins to be a little better for you, try substituting some of the sugar with applesauce.
Pumpkin - You should always use regular pumpkin puree. Never the canned pumpkin pie mix because that has sugar and spices in it already and just won't work. You can also use homemade pumpkin puree if you want!
Eggs - You should use large eggs in this recipe. You can also use an egg replacement like flax egg, if needed. Always make sure the eggs are room temperature. I like to keep my eggs in warm (not hot) water until I am ready to mix them into the batter.
Oil - If you want light muffins that have great rise and stay moist, you need to use oil! You can use any neutral-flavored oil that you have available. You can use melted butter, but it won't have the same effect.
Juice - This is my secret ingredient for these muffins. Typically, you should use orange juice. If you don't have any available, apple juice or apple cider also works. It gives the pumpkin more depth of flavor.
Vanilla - Muffins aren't complete unless I have vanilla. Always use pure extract, and never the imitation stuff. Trust me on this one.
Chocolate - You can use chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate. I like to use chopped chocolate because it creates pools of chocolate in the muffins when they are warm and it is just so delicious! I prefer dark or semi-sweet chocolate in my muffins, but use what you like best - or use a mix of different types of chocolate!

How to Make

Making muffins is one of my favorite things to do. They're so simple to make, and you don't need to get out the mixer or anything.

Preheat your oven and line a muffin tin with liners.
Add all your dry ingredients into a bowl and stir.
Add in all the wet ingredients into another bowl and whisk until well-combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient and stir. There should be lots of lumps.
Fold in the chocolate until just combined.
Evenly divide the batter among the muffin tin. Top with more chocolate for looks.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean or with a crumb or two attached.

pumpkin muffins on wire rack with one muffin with missing wrapper

Tips

You can substitute some of the sugar for applesauce and the flour for white whole wheat flour for a more wholesome muffin. To make the muffins look even better, top the batter with more chocolate.

You can turn this recipe into a loaf. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 baking pan. Bake at 425F for 5 minutes, then bring down the temperature and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

close up pumpkin muffin with bite missing

Storage

Keep these stored in an airtight container for up to three days. These pumpkin muffins freeze amazingly well. Keep them in an airtight container. To thaw leave at room temperature for a few hours. I also recommend warming them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to make them like they're freshly baked again.

pumpkin chocolate chip muffins scattered on table

F.A.Q.s

Can I customize these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins?

Absolutely! You can top them with pepitas, old fashioned oats, or even add chopped nuts or streusel to the batter. I definitely recommend experimenting!

Can I skip the chocolate?

If chocolate isn't your thing, feel free to just omit it from the recipe and have a delicious regular pumpkin muffin!

My muffins came out dry, what happened?

Chances are they were slightly over baked. The pumpkin and oil should keep the muffins moist, but it can only help so much against over baking. Check the muffins about 5 minutes before the earlier listed baking time with a toothpick and monitor the muffins every few minutes from then to check for doneness.

overhead of muffins one with bite missin

Related recipes

If you are looking for more amazing muffins recipes, I've got a few you need to try out. These blueberry donut muffins are a favorite. And these carrot cake muffins are always very popular. Chocolate lovers will love these chocolate zucchini muffins and these decadent brownie muffins. You should also try these peanut butter banana muffins, banana chocolate chip muffins. and cinnamon peach muffins. If you are looking for pumpkin recipes, you will love these fluffy pumpkin pancakes, honey pumpkin bread, this pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin cream cheese bars, and chocolate pumpkin pecan pie.