Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Made with real pumpkin purée, ginger oil, warm spices, and milk chocolate chips, plus crunchy Demerara sugar on top, these chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are ideal for serving at an autumn breakfast or brunch.

Why Do I Love These Pumpkin Muffins?

Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not the biggest fan of autumn. Sure, the leaves look pretty for a couple of weeks, but before long it’s winter, and then it’s just cold, dark, and downright miserable. (I still don’t understand why summer seems to last for all of about five seconds, but winter drags on for an eternity. Why can’t it be the other way around?)

For me, the one thing that makes the change in seasons just a tiny bit more bearable is the chance to revisit all of my favorite fall flavors. After a summer filled with icebox cakes, granitas, and homemade lemonade, it’s finally cool enough to turn on the oven again, just in time to bake with classic autumn ingredients like apple, caramel, pumpkin, and chai.

These chococolate chip pumpkin muffins are incredibly easy to make—you can pull this recipe together in about 45 minutes from start to finish, with minimal need for special tools or fancy ingredients. These muffins are great for breakfast on a crisp autumn morning, as a quick afternoon snack paired with a mug of coffee, or added to a bread basket for a family brunch. Plus, the scents of pumpkin, cinnamon, and brown sugar will waft through your kitchen as these muffins bake, putting everyone (even cold weather-haters like me!) in the mood for fall.

Pumpkin Muffin Ingredients

To make this chocolate chip pumpkin muffin recipe, begin by gathering the following ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour – Or plain flour, if you’re in the UK.
  
• Pumpkin Purée – Choose real pumpkin purée for this recipe, not pumpkin pie filling.
  

• Baking Soda and Baking Powder – Both of these leavening agents will make your muffins rise.
  
• Spices – You’ll need ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cardamom, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves, plus fine sea salt, to create the perfect blend of pumpkin spice.
  
• Pumpkin Spice Flavoring or Ginger Oil – While optional, a small amount of pumpkin spice or ginger oil adds a big amount of fall flavor. If you don’t have either of these on hand, you can use vanilla bean paste (or extract) instead.

• Vegetable Oil – Or canola oil, or coconut oil.
  
• Whole Milk – You can also use semi-skimmed, or your favorite plant milk, like almond or oat.
  
• Sugars – You’ll need granulated sugar, dark brown sugar (I prefer the rich, molasses flavor of dark brown sugar, but feel free to substitute light brown sugar if you’d like), and Demerara sugar, for creating the crunchy tops.
• Eggs – These pumpkin muffins require two medium eggs, at room temperature.
• Milk Chocolate Chips – I love the combination of milk chocolate and pumpkin, but you can swap milk for dark chocolate if you prefer less sweetness. Be sure to reserve a few pices of chocolate for the tops of the muffins.

Sugar or No Sugar?

Demerara sugar is a partially refined sugar similar to Turbinado sugar or Sugar in the Raw. The golden color, caramel flavor, and larger sugar crystals add a lovely finishing touch to muffins, hand pies, and shortbread cookies.

I tested two versions of this muffin recipe: One version with Demerara sugar sprinkled on top, and a second version without.

In the photo below, you can see the difference between the two muffins. The muffin on the left (the one with Demerara sugar) has a cracked, crunchy, slightly caramelized top. The muffin on the right (no sugar) is smooth and shiny.

I prefer bakery-style muffins with crunchy tops, so I vote for Demerara sugar! (Another coarse sugar, like Sugar in the Raw or Turbinado sugar, will also work.) However, you can skip the sprinkle of sugar if you like your muffins with soft, smooth tops.

When to Serve Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are perfect for embracing the season’s cozy vibes.

Enjoy your homemade pumpkin muffins warm from the oven on a crisp fall morning, paired with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Serve them for brunch, accompanied by butter, honey, cream cheese, or homemade pumpkin butter. Pack them up for a post apple-picking treat, or surprise your coworkers with a batch for the break room.

These muffins will keep well for several days. They also freeze nicely—I suggest wrapping each muffin individually in foil, making it easy to thaw one or two for breakfast on the go.

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe Tips and Tricks

Use silicone muffin liners! The second best option is a silicone muffin pan. Paper liners will also work in a pinch. One thing I do not recommend is an unlined metal tin, unless you want to spend a lot of time prying the muffins from the pan.

After baking, cool the muffins briefly before transferring them to a wire rack, but do not let them cool completely in the tin. In testing, I allowed a batch to cool in the tin for several hours, and found that this made the muffins difficult to remove (the melted Demerara stuck to the tin), and also made cleaning the pan more tedious.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Because this muffin recipe comes together in about 45 minutes, I suggest making pumpkin muffins on the day you plan to serve them. However, the leftovers will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for two or three days.

Homemade muffins also freeze nicely. To freeze, cool completely, then remove the silicone liners (if using paper liners, you can freeze directly in the paper.) Wrap the muffins in foil, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature.

Other muffin recipes you might enjoy:

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Strawberry Muffins
Berry Oatmeal Muffins

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

Print