Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are so delicious and a Fall favorite! A classic meld of pumpkin and chocolate chip flavors wrapped in this soft, slightly springy pumpkin muffin texture.
Loaded with a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, our pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are perfect for an afternoon snack or breakfast with a mug of coffee or tea. The perfect treat for pumpkin lovers.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins…A Fall Favorite
Happy Fall and welcome to all things pumpkin! This time of year, pumpkins are getting all kinds of attention. They are so much more than just Halloween decorations! Our lovely pumpkins are ready to be eaten!
So, how good are these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins?
Think about an incredibly soft, chewy muffin that like a slightly more moist than a fall sweet bread…loaded with warm cinnamon and pumpkin flavors, complemented with melt-in-your-mouth semi-sweet chocolate chips. YES! That’s the taste of Fall!
If you are ready to embrace Fall, Halloween, pumpkin season, cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice everything, and Sundays with football on TV, these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are for you!
A few more things to know about this pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe:
- Ready under 30 minutes – 10 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of baking it in the oven…and get ready to have your house smell like Fall cinnamon pumpkin goodness!
- Simple ingredients – using pantry-friendly ingredients, you probably already have these basic baking ingredients in your kitchen right now!
- Healthier than most – we use apple sauce instead of oil/butter which reduces the amount of fats and makes it slightly healthier than most muffins.
- Make ahead breakfast/snack – they make such easy grab-and-go breakfast snack that you can make ahead. Even if you want to some of these muffins for much later, simply freeze them and bring them to a complete defrost when ready to eat.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins:
- canned pumpkin puree – be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. The dough will be too wet if you use fresh puree. Try to avoid that.
- unsweetened applesauce – I choose to use apple sauce instead of vegetable oil/canola oil or butter. It’s a bit of a healthier option that helps contribute to the moisture of our muffins. If a sweeter taste is desired, you can use sweetened applesauce.
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda – this helps to spread and rise the muffins as they bake, and make the muffin exterior lightly firm.
- baking powder – another leavening agent that helps the muffins to rise
- ground cinnamon – Fall’s signature spice! This brings a warm flavor dimension to our muffins
- granulated sugar
- light brown sugar
- salt – a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness of our chocolate chip pumpkin muffins
- semi-sweet chocolate chips – you can also use milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips or a mix!
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
One of the best things about pumpkin is how simple they are to make. As we approach cooler weather and the exciting holidays ahead, who has the time for lengthy, complicated recipes?
You can have these scrumptious muffins ready in about a half hour from beginning to end.
Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Prep
First, we first mix together our dry ingredients in a medium bowl. This would be flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Then, set aside.
Step 2: Make the Batter
Next, use a stand mixer to beat together the wet ingredients, which are sugar, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin puree, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla extract, eggs, and salt.
Once pumpkin muffin batter is creamy and fully combined, a little at a time to fold in the flour mixture. Be sure to only mix this batter, and all muffin batters in general, until just combined.
This will give your chocolate chip pumpkin muffins a perfectly light texture.
Then, fold in the chocolate chips by hand. Be sure to not overmix your batter This is important in order to keep your pumpkin muffins moist and light.
Using a rubber or a silicone spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl as you are incorporating the flour mixture and folding in the chocolate chips.
Pumpkin muffin batter may be a little lumpy, and that’s okay, in fact, that’s what we are aiming for. Once there are no longer any visible dry flour in the batter, go ahead and stop the mixing process.
Step 3: Fill the Pan
Grease each muffin cup with a neutral oil.
Fill each well of a muffin pan 3/4 of the way to the top. Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins will rise in the middle when it is baking.
Optional: add a few chocolate chips to the top of each muffin cup.
This recipe should fill ~18 muffin cup.
Step 4: Baking
Give your filled muffin pan a light tap to release any air bubbles in the batter and then bake each muffin pan for 20 minutes at 350℉.
Once pumpkin muffins are done, remove the pan from the oven, place it on a wire rack, and allow the muffins to cool in pan for around 5 minutes before transferring them onto the rack to cool completely.
These pumpkin chocolate chip muffin tastes best when served warm with a cup of hot tea or coffee. YUM!
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins truly are the perfect fall sweet bread slash sweet treat which truly encapsulates the Fall flavors and spirit. It doesn’t get more Fall than this!
Variations and Substitutions
- Different chocolate chips – I love using semi-sweet chocolate chips in my pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, however, you can also use milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips.
- Adding or substituting with nuts – You can also add nuts to make these muffins if you would like. Pecans, almonds and walnuts are some great options.
- Subbing the apple sauce – I like to use apple sauce to make healthier, lower fat muffins, especially when we are eating this for breakfast. However, you can use unsalted butter or vegetable oil instead if you prefer.
Storage Instructions
To store your pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, place them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
If you want to keep them longer, you can keep the in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze them for up to three months If you freeze them, be sure to cover them tightly.
Tips and Tricks
- Spacing: When filling the muffin cups, fill it up to 3/4 of the cup so that there is some space for the muffins to rise.
- Mixing the batter: Remember to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately first, then combine them. Over mixing can result in tough muffins.
- Spice it up: Feel free to experiment with other spices besides cinnamon that pair well with pumpkin like clove, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Grease muffin cups: Make sure to spray muffin cups with oil before adding batter to prevent sticking.
- Line muffin cups for easy cleanup: if you have muffin liners, use it so that muffins don’t stick to the muffin tin. This will make cleanup a breeze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes absolutely. Here’s a recipe to make fresh pumpkin puree.
Yes, feel free to use any type of chocolate you like. You can chop up a chocolate bar into small pieces if you don’t have any chocolate chips on hand.
Yes! Replace the regular all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour.
Yes, they freeze well. Just make sure to cool them completely and then store in a freezer bag. They should keep for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature when ready to eat.
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More Easy Breakfast/Snack Recipes
- Cottage Cheese Egg Bites
- Banana and Date Muffins
- English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich
- Pumpkin Banana Muffin
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1½ cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease muffin pan.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a medium sized bowl, add granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin puree, applesauce, vanilla extract, and eggs. Thoroughly mix with a stand mixer or a hand mixer.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients by adding small portions of the dry ingredients and just barely incorporating it with the wet ingredients before adding more. Make sure you do not over-mix.
- Once all of the dry ingredients are mixed into the wet, fold in the chocolate chips. Do not use a mixer for this step.
- Grease each muffin cup. Scoop batter into muffin pan. There should be enough batter to make 18 muffins. If you only have a 12 cup muffin pan, cover the remaining batter while you cook the first 12. You can cook the remaining six muffins once the first 12 are removed from the muffin pan.
- Bake muffins for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes our clean.
- Allow muffins to cook in pan for a few minutes. Then remove to a wired cooling rack to cool completely.
- If needed, repeat with the remaining batter making sure to grease your muffin pan before using again.
- Once cool, serve and enjoy!
