Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Muffins

I’m not somebody who bakes often. I typically need an “occasion” on the calendar to motivate my baking.

When my daughter told us she was running in the Big Apple Half Marathon, I decided this was one of those occasions to finally create a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chunk muffins.  

My husband and I were planning to cheer her on, so I made a batch of these muffins and brought them with us.

I figured she could freeze them for a quick breakfast on her way to work.

The muffins were a big hit. They turned out to be hearty, chocolate-ly, and a welcome twist on pumpkin spice muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chunks

The idea for this pumpkin muffin recipe came from a whole wheat pumpkin spice bread I made last year. It was loaded with pumpkin puree.

Since then, I’ve been dreaming about modifying the recipe into muffins.

On a recent trip to Trader Joes, I noticed they had chocolate chunks available (not always the case), so I picked up a bag.

(Trader Joes chocolate chips are my favorite brand, so I was excited to use the chocolate chunks in a new recipe.)

Immediately, I thought they’d be a good addition to the cupcake sized pumpkin muffins I‘d been wanting to make.

That’s how I came up with this recipe for pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Muffins Recipe

In this recipe, I used canned pumpkin, a combination of spices, and chocolate chunks. The other ingredients are standard baking additions you’d likely have in your pantry.

The most important tip for making tender, melt-in-your-mouth muffins is to separately mix the wet and dry ingredients and then bring them together just enough so that they are mixed.

Overmixing will result in a tough, dry muffin.

No Bueno.

Pumpkin Spice

I didn’t have any pumpkin spice around so I mixed cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together.

This comes through as a gentle hint of spice in the muffin.

A Cupcake-Sized Muffin

I used my regular muffin tins and filled them ¾ of the way full. The result? A nice-sized muffin, not too small and not too big.

I dotted the top of the muffin with two or three chocolate chunks to give them that professional bakery look (Yes, I was feeling very baker-esque.)

Here’s the recipe – I hope you like it! They are delicious fresh out of the oven but also easy to freeze and pop out one at a time.

Perfect for Breakfast or a Snack

These are great as a stand-alone snack or pair them up with one of the following breakfast ideas:

• Egg in a Hole
• On the Go Eggs (5 Ways)
• or add these to your Mega List of Healthy Toddler Snack Ideas