Perfect Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Pumpkin, pumpkin, everywhere! It’s fall and there’s just something about soup, a roast, baked bread, a scarf, coffee and of course anything pumpkin. It’s seasonal, soothing and the definition of pure comfort. From September through Thanksgiving, these muffins just hit the spot. If you know me, you know my husband and I love food, cooking and trying new dishes. I don’t typically post recipes here on my real estate blog, but I’ve been perfecting these pumpkin spice muffins and I just had to share! Not only does it make the house smell amazing, it’s a great way to use up extra pantry items, save money and of course make a delicious, (pretty healthy) breakfast, dessert or snack food. Your family/friends/co-workers will LOVE these pumpkin spice muffins! This recipe yields enough for sharing.

I’ve been all over the internet and I’ve tried a lot of recipes. Food Network, Libby’s, popular cooking blogs and websites. Most were lacking flavor, sweetness or were just missing something. I just couldn’t put my finger on it and kept trying, but voila, I put my finger(s) on it! This is my perfected, pumpkin spice muffins:

Ingredients:

1 can 29oz Libby’s canned pumpkin (You can use fresh, small pumpkins if you like. I find the can is just as good and much easier)

4 cups of flour (I use unbleached)

2 cups of granulated sugar (You can substitute with Splenda or use half & half)

1 cup of light brown sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water or orange juice

2 teaspoon vanilla

3 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 cup milk chocolate chips (You can use semi-sweet, mini chips, more or less than a cup depending on preference. You can also add chopped walnuts, craisins, raisins or dried cranberries. (Of course you could just omit all of these things and go for plain)

Directions:

I use a fork for mixing and two large bowls. Easy, peasy. I don’t pull out the big mixer guns for this one. In one bowl combine the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. In the other bowl, combine/beat pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, eggs, oil and water. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Mix just until blended and pretty smooth. Once finished add the chocolate chips to the batter and gently mix. You can freeze them before if you prefer to keep them a bit more in tact, but I like them melted into the muffin for random bites of wow.

I use a standard 12 muffin pan. No paper cups! Grease the muffin pan well both inside the cups and on the outside to the tops won’t stick. I use a standard canola oil spray. Fill 3/4 of the way up. Once filled, sprinkle an optional cinnamon/sugar mixture to the tops for a little extra sweet crunch when baked.

Place in a 350 degree pre-heated oven. Center rack of course. Set the stove timer for 28 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. I get approximately 30 good-sized muffins out of this recipe! My family goes bonkers and loves them any time of the day/night. Keep them sealed up tightly in Tupperware or in a large zip-lock bag. They will actually taste better the next day. I keep mine for 3/4 days if they last!

These are actually amazing served HOT right from the oven with a good scoop of vanilla ice cream. There’s something about the pumpkin/chocolate combination that is just perfect. Top that with a quality vanilla ice cream and it’s heaven…

To add even another touch to these, you can top them with a simple white icing drizzle. 1 cup of powdered sugar and 5 teaspoons of milk mixed. Or, you can just top them with powdered sugar. You can even make a cream cheese frosting for topping or filling. Be as creative as you like. We like them plain with coffee or milk. I stock up on all my ingredients and I’m guilty of making them often… Enjoy!