Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
intro
Soft, warmly spiced pumpkin muffins studded with melty chocolate chips, perfect for cozy fall snacking, quick breakfasts, and holiday treat swaps.
Ingredients
Steps
Preheat oven and prep tin
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) with a rack positioned in the middle. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease each cup with non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Whisk dry ingredients
In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon fine salt. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds to evenly distribute leaveners and spices, breaking up any small flour clumps.
Mix wet ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ½ cup (120ml) neutral vegetable oil, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50g) packed light brown sugar, 2 room-temperature large eggs, 1 cup (245g) unsweetened pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons (30ml) room-temperature whole milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk for 1 minute until the mixture is completely smooth, with no streaks of egg remaining.
Combine batter and chips
Pour the entire dry ingredient mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together for 20-25 seconds, stopping as soon as no dry flour streaks remain (the batter will be slightly lumpy—do not overmix). Fold in ¾ cup (131g) of the semi-sweet chocolate chips, reserving the remaining ¼ cup (44g) for topping.
Portion batter into tin
Use a ¼-cup (60ml) cookie scoop or measuring cup to evenly divide the batter between the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about ¾ full. Sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup (44g) chocolate chips evenly over the top of each muffin portion for a pretty, chocolatey top.
Bake and cool muffins
Place the muffin tin on the middle oven rack and bake for 18-22 minutes at 375°F (190°C). Test doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of a middle muffin— it should come out with 1-2 moist crumbs (not wet batter) attached. Remove the tin from the oven, let muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 10 more minutes before serving.
Tips
2.Always use unsweetened canned pumpkin puree for this recipe, not pre-made pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has added sugar, spices, and thickeners that will throw off the recipe’s balance and texture.
3.For bakery-style tall, domed muffin tops, bake at 400°F (200°C) for the first 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) for the remaining 13-17 minutes without opening the oven door.
These look incredible, I’m so excited to bake them this weekend! Quick question before I run to the store — has anyone tried making these with whole wheat flour? I’m trying to use up the giant bag I have in my pantry before my next grocery run and don’t want to mess up that perfect moist texture. Also, what’s the best spice ratio if I don’t have pre-mixed pumpkin spice on hand?
Wow, this recipe is so easy even a guy who burns toast 90% of the time can nail it! I was worried pumpkin muffins would turn out dry and bland, but these stayed moist for 4 whole days in an airtight container on my counter. Brought them in for our office potluck and my coworkers were blowing up my group chat asking for the link all afternoon. 10/10, no notes.
Made these for my family’s Sunday dinner dessert and even my super picky 7-year-old who swears he hates all pumpkin food ate two! I added a quick cinnamon sugar crumble on top before baking for a little extra crunch and *chef’s kiss*. These are officially going into our regular fall recipe rotation for every dinner and get-together from now on.
OMG these are SO good! I baked a batch for my kid’s fall class party and every single kid asked for seconds — even the ones who swear they hate pumpkin! I swapped the regular chocolate chips for mini ones so they’d be extra melty in every bite, and I’m already planning to make these weekly all pumpkin season long. Quick question: do these freeze well? I want to meal prep a big batch for chaotic school mornings!
Perfect easy recipe to throw together between midterm study sessions! I didn’t have canned pumpkin so I roasted a sugar pumpkin I grabbed from the campus farmers market and pureed it, and it worked perfectly. Only tiny issue: my muffins stuck pretty bad to the paper liners when I tried to peel them. Any tips to fix that for my next batch?
Total game changer! I’ve been on the hunt for a perfect pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe for literal years and this is finally the one. It’s not overly spiced, perfectly moist, and the chocolate chips don’t all sink straight to the bottom — which is a problem I have with literally every other muffin recipe I try. Brought a double batch to my neighborhood block party and people were tracking me down to ask for the recipe before I even packed up my stuff to leave.
Just pulled these out of the oven and my entire apartment smells like a cozy fall candle! The chocolate chip to pumpkin ratio is chef’s kiss — not too sweet, so I don’t feel guilty grabbing one for breakfast with my morning latte. I skipped the optional walnuts like the recipe note suggested and they’re perfect for my nut-allergic roommate, too!