Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, and after devouring nearly 2 dozen of these muffins in as many days, I figured these would be a perfect fall recipe. I had a can of pumpkin and I wanted to use it, plus I love pumpkin baked goods.

So I searched for some recipes online and found a few that sounded good. But I wanted to add oatmeal, so I borrowed from a few different recipes and made my own!

Now I just have to remember exactly what I did...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup oats
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 bag of chocolate chips

Wet ingredients

4 eggs
2/3 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup oil
1 can pumpkin puree (28 oz)

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix all dry ingredients except chocolate chips.
You could substitute whole wheat flour with the oats, but I love oatmeal muffins so I specifically wanted to include this. I started out with 1 cup of oats, but then I realized my can of pumpkin is larger than the "can" called for in all my other recipes. So I added a bit extra at the end.
I'm also a big fan of ginger, so I think I ended up adding a bit more than a teaspoon. The dark brown spice is allspice. Some of the recipes I had called for ground cloves and nutmeg, neither of which I had. So I used allspice and it turned out great!
Don't forget to add in the sugar. And always firmly pack in the brown sugar unless otherwise noted.There, now mix all the dry ingredients together.

3. Mix all the wet ingredients together.I really liked the thought of adding in some apple sauce. I figured it would help keep the muffins moist, and replaced plain old water or extra oil in some other recipes.
So most recipes called for maximum 15 oz of pumpkin. I was going to use only 1/2 of my 28 oz can... but who can resist? The beautiful orange looked so pretty with the yellow eggs. And more pumpkin just means more moist, right? Either way, mix all that together.

4. Add dry ingredients to the wet. Now mix it gently with a spoon, and DON'T OVERMIX!!! Just make sure to get all the dry powder wet and then stop. This picture shows dough that still needs a bit of mixing.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Again, DON'T OVERMIX! Just stir until the chips are evently distributed. If you aren't a big chocolate fan, use a cup or so, but if you're like me, just dump in the whole bag. Use whatever kind of chocolate you prefer ~ I went for milk chocolate.

Of course, right around now I got excited and forgot about taking pictures. But you should be able to get it.

6. Line your muffin pan with paper cups, and fill each cup with a scoop of batter. I used about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls, but then I like big muffins. My mom uses an ice cream scoop and swears by that.

7. Bake for about 20 minutes. The timing depends on how full you've stuffed your muffin cups, but 18-20 min should just about do it.
Enjoy!

Try not to eat a dozen a day...