These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are a cinch to prepare. Full of pumpkin, spice, and chocolate, they are perfect for fall breakfasts and snacks.
As fall approaches, so do my desires for baked goods, stocking the cupboards, and pumpkin-flavored goodies. Oh and sweaters. Unfortunately, I have to wait until November to be able to wear a sweater around here, but the pumpkin goodies? I got those covered.
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are a favorite of mine. Rich, spicy, pumpkin cake is dotted with mini chocolate chips. They are the perfect breakfast or afternoon snack during fall.
Or anytime, really. As long as you can get your hands on pumpkin.
It’s funny. Some years I’ve got loads of pumpkin on hand and can bake with it year-round. One year I found canned organic pumpkin on clearance for 50 cents a can. I bought two cases and it took us years to use it up!
Other years I’m scrambling from store to store on the hunt for it. This month, after looking in two stores and coming up empty, I ordered it from Google Express. I got six cans delivered the next day. Boom. No running around town.
How I make this good:
Whenever possible I like to cook with plain old ingredients. While the convenience of mixes and canned sauces is nice, I feel better about feeding my family just real food whenever possible. (Go here for some of my reasons on all that.)
Using a homemade muffin mix allows me to have my convenience along with high quality ingredients. You’ll notice that this recipe is just that: ingredients. No weird preservatives, nothing you can’t pronounce.
How I make this cheap:
Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe more economical:
- Do a price comparison. I know that Costco is the best place to buy ingredients like eggs and spices when there isn’t a great sale elsewhere. I keep track of prices so that I know who has the best deal where.
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, as the holiday season approaches, the prices on baking ingredients drop dramatically. I stock up wherever possible on canned pumpkin, baking chocolate, flour, spices, and leavenings.
- Use more affordable alternatives. If buttermilk is not something you’ll use up or if it’s just not in the budget, make your own “soured milk”. Place one tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice in a 1-cup measure, fill up the cup with milk, let it sit for five minutes. The resulting mixture is an affordable alternative to buttermilk. You can also mix together equal parts of milk and yogurt to create a buttermilk-like mixture.
- Use mini chocolate chips; they stretch farther than larger chips. 1/2 cup of mini chips goes much farther than the same amount of regular chips.
- If there’s a pumpkin shortage where you live or you have an abundance of butternut squash, make butternut squash puree instead. It works great in these muffins!
Tools I use to make this recipe easy:
Having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.
- Pyrex mixing measure bowl – I have had mine for almost 20 years!
- wire whisk – I like this style with a sealed barrel. Then you can send it through the dishwasher.
- parchment muffin papers – I bought a case of these a year or so ago and absolutely love them!
- USA muffin pan – These are the best pans ever! No need to grease the cups; the pan washes up like a breeze.
- rubber scraping spatulas – Get every little bit with a scraper!
- ice cream scoop – A scoop makes muffin-making so quick and easy.
Other favorite pumpkin recipes
- Pumpkin Spice Scones
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Biscuits
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
- Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Maple Glaze
- Spicy Pork Chili with Pumpkin
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are a cinch to prepare. Full of pumpkin, spice, and chocolate, they are perfect for fall breakfasts and snacks.
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup neutral oil
- 2 egg
- 1 batch Mix and Match Muffin Mix
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips plus extra for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin cups with muffin papers.
In a large mixing bowl combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, oil, and eggs. Whisk until well blended.
Add the muffin mix and the spices. Stir gently to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups. It's okay if the cups overflow. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips over the top of the muffin batter.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the baked muffins on a wire rack.
To make ahead: Baked, cooled, and unfrosted muffins can be stored in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer.
Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1 muffin.
Charlene says
These sound good. I was wondering about the bag of Mix and Match Muffin Mix. What’s the recipe for that? I found your recipe for the Mix and Match Muffins, but I’m not sure what part of that to use for this recipe, or how much of it to use?? Thanks!
Jessica says
@Charlene, great question. I apologize. I forgot to link to the Muffin recipe. It will just be the dry part of the Muffin Mix. I’ve edited that recipe for clarity. https://goodcheapeats.com/2009/11/mix-and-match-muffins/ Thanks!
Charlene says
@Jessica, Cool, now I know exactly what to do! Thanks so much!
Becki's Whole Life says
Yum…I love pumpkin and I may possibly have one can still in my pantry. I am starting to be completely ready for fall so this recipe sounds great right now!
Jen says
I always cook up my halloween jack-o-lantern and freeze 1 cup servings in freezer bags. That way I always have stuff for pumpkin bread or pumpkin cookies.
Sharon says
We love pumpkin choc chip muffins at our house too! You may have inspired me to get baking… even though it will be 95+ degrees today (that’s better than the 100+ it was a week ago!) 😉
Becky says
Instead of canned pumpkin (which I never seem to be able to find as low as you mentioned), I buy lots of sweet potatoes when they are super cheap in Nov/Dec ($.25/lb around here), cook and puree them, then freeze in 2-cup portions for use the rest of the year. I use it interchangably with pumpkin in recipes like this one.
femmefrugality says
OH MY GOSH these are so good! Pumpkin’s not a staple at my house…but that may change. Thank you for reminding me about the pumpkin/chocolate chip combo!
sarah k. @ the pajama chef says
haha funny, my husband was just asking me what i was going to do with all the pumpkin i stockpiled from last fall in case there was a shortage this year! 🙂
Debbie says
Too funny! I had the almost exact same post a couple of years ago!
http://unafamiliaalaskena.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-love-after-christmas-sales.html
We LOVE pumpkin chocolate chip muffins here!
Nora@ The Dollar Hollering Homemaker says
Um I bought 48 cans of pumpkin last year…like you mine expire in 2013….
So pumpkin is a staple around here, so yummy. My friend joy just gave me her pumpkin oatmeal choco chip recipe and it’s yummy!
Jen Blacker says
That’s funny, I was looking for pumpkin a few months ago and the shelves were empty. Next shopping trip I’ll have to keep my eyes out.
Janine says
So funny! In Australia you can’t get ‘canned’ pumpkin in any supermarket. It’s just not available. When I think pumpkin I only think fresh! I wanted to make a pumkin pie last year and had to get canned pumkin from the US Food Store online 🙂
AllieZirkle says
So I went ahead and made these today. I think it’s 110* outside. I cannot believe I’m running my oven… Alas, batch baking was needed! I also baked up a triple batch of pancakes and a triple batch of waffles.
I did increase the recipe by 1.5 to use the entire 15 oz can of pumpkin. This worked well! 36 muffins are in my oven. Oh! And I only had regular chocolate chips, not the mini, and they seem to work just fine. YUM!
🙂 Allie
Jessica says
@AllieZirkle, great! Thanks for the feedback!
Natasha says
I have some pumpkin stored from last year, but how much is one bag of dry mix? 1 cup?
Jessica says
The recipe is here: https://goodcheapeats.com/2009/11/mix-and-match-muffins/
Melissa Graham says
Still no pumpkin to be found in NC. I was wondering if sweet potato would do the same. I really hate to try to cook my own pumpkin. LOL.
Jessica says
I am guessing that it would.
Jblank says
I use butternut squash when I don’t have pumpkin. I also add a cup of pumpkin to my chili. It gives a little sweet and a little more fiber!
Emily @ Random Recycling says
so happy to pin this today on my Muffin board!
Vivienne says
A question: the recipe doesn’t state which size of can – we get two sizes in my area, but I’m thinking probably the smaller size. (The big can I have is 28 fl oz).
Secondly, your “Yield” states 12, but the recipe says 24.
Looking forward to eating some in about 45 mins 😉
Jessica says
Yes on the smaller can. As for the yield, I think it specifies servings. And I would consider 2 muffins a serving since they are fairly small. Sorry for the confusion.
christina says
Can I use milk instead of buttermilk?
Jessica says
That should work. Just reduce the amount of milk just a tad.