Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins – A Couple Cooks

These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are deliciously moist and cozy-spiced: the perfect baking project for the season!

Here’s a baking project for when you’re ready for fall-spiced everything: try these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins! These tall mounds of dough have a tender crumb and the perfect dose of pumpkin spices, with rich chocolaty morsels in each bite. They’re simple to whip up and the best fall treat for an afternoon snack, dessert, or even to gift to friends and neighbors! Here are all our secrets.

Ingredients in pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

There are infinite ways to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, but here’s what you’ll need for our family recipe. A hefty dose of pumpkin puree keeps them moist, and using both sugar and maple syrup gives a nuance to the sweetness. Using cinnamon and pumpkin spices is also key to the cozy-spiced flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Neutral oil
• Granulated sugar
• Pumpkin puree
• Maple syrup
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Apple cider vinegar
• Baking powder and baking soda
• Kosher salt
• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin pie spices (purchased or homemade)
• Flour
• Chocolate chips

Why pumpkin spice + cinnamon?

This pumpkin muffins recipe uses both pie spices and cinnamon. Are they both required? Yes! In the many pumpkin recipes we’ve developed, we’ve noticed it’s essential to have both for that classic “pumpkin” flavor.

Cinnamon brings in the sweet notes, and pumpkin spices bring in the spicy, cozy and more bitter elements. The combination of the two makes the best balanced flavor. We also use this trick in our pumpkin bars and pumpkin spice pancakes.

Keys to tall pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

It’s no fun to bake a batch of stubby muffins, and we love the look of a bakery-style muffin. These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are tall and hefty, with beautifully-domed tops! Here are a few keys to how to achieve evenly-baked tall muffins:

• Fill every other cup in two 12-cup muffin tins. This makes for the most even bake, as the muffin tops don’t grow into each other when baking. It’s not required, but helpful for perfect muffins.
• Use a recipe that’s optimized for tall muffins, like this one! This recipe is optimized so you have plenty of batter; you’ll fill the muffin cups very full up to the top.
• Baking at 400°F makes a taller muffin. Many muffin recipes baked at 350°F, but a slightly hotter oven makes a taller and fluffier muffin. This recipe also has a hefty amount of leavener (baking powder and baking soda), which makes for a good rise.

Storage info

These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins store well over time, and become even more moist after storage! Here’s what to know:

• Room temperature: Store up to 4 days at room temperature in a sealed container: they become even more moist over time!
• Refrigerator: Store refrigerated for up to 1 week! Let them stand at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.
• Freeze: Freeze in a sealable container and store up to 3 months.

More pumpkin recipes

These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are a favorite baking project, but there are so many more fun things to make with this seasonal squash! Here are a few more pumpkin recipes to try: