Who doesn't like the comforting flavors of pumpkin spice? These chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are the perfect treat any time of day and will make your whole house smell like fall. 

I just love everything about fall. The holidays, the pretty leaves, the weather, and of course, the smell of pumpkin spice!

These are the best pumpkin muffins ever! They keep their moisture and have that coveted slightly crunchy muffin top.

It has the perfect amount of spice and chocolate. Of course, if chocolate is not your thing, you can opt out of adding the chocolate chips to this recipe too! You can also check out my pumpkin coffee cake, an equally delicious pumpkin spice flavored treat.

This muffin recipe is based off of my pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting but I've modified by adding brown sugar and chocolate. Now, let's get started!

Ingredients You Will Need:

• All purpose flour: Measure out your flour by fluffing it first and then measuring with a scoop and leveling it off.
• Baking soda: This will help your muffin rise. Be sure your baking soda is fresh and not expired.
• Spices: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger. This is what's going to give you that fall flavor and aroma.
• Salt: Always need a little salt in anything sweet!
• Vegetable Oil: This is what's going to keep your muffins extra moist!
• Sugar and Brown Sugar: I use a mix of sugars here for sweetness and depth of flavor. If you don't have dark brown sugar, you can use light brown sugar.
• Pumpkin Puree: This is the star of our muffins! Be sure to use canned pure pumpkin puree (such as Libby's) and not pumpkin pie filling. 
• Eggs: Use room temperature eggs so that it mixes well into the batter.
• Milk: You can use any kind of milk here. I used 2%.
• Chocolate Chips: There is no right amount of chocolate chips to use. It just depends on how much chocolate flavor you want. A half cup felt like a good balance to me.

How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins:

First prepare your muffin tin. Line each cup with a paper liner or brush with butter. Set up your oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Muffins are a type of quick bread and quick breads are made by combining wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately and then combining the two. You can do all the mixing by hand so there's no need to take out your electric mixer.  

First, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well using a whisk. Using a whisk will also help sift the flour mixture. 

Next, in a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and again mix well with a whisk. All the ingredients should be evenly incorporated. 

Finally, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well (but don't over mix) with a rubber spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Remember there's no right amount of chocolate chips so feel free to adjust the amount to your taste. 

Divide the pumpkin batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin. I like to use an ice cream scoop initially to put one scoop in each compartment. Then I use a spoon to evenly distribute the rest of the batter. The muffin cups should be filled almost to the top. 

Bake the muffins for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 325F. Bake for another 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. There should be no wet batter on the toothpick.  

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Storing 

You can store the muffins in an airtight container on the counter top for 1-2 days, in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to two months.

Additional Tips:

I know you are probably wondering what to do with the rest of the canned pumpkin. If you hate food waste like me, just put it away in an airtight container in the fridge. I usually toss it into a vegetable soup, or mix it into black bean enchiladas the next day.