Bakery-Style Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you're looking for a simple, delicious dessert to bake with canned pumpkin, these pumpkin muffins with chocolate chunks rise tall and proud, wear a crunchy turbinado sugar crust, and hide melty bittersweet chocolate in every bite. They're cozy, not too sweet, and they freeze beautifully, so go ahead and stash a few for later.
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 262kcal
Equipment
Standard muffin tin (helpful if you have two, but not necessary)
Paper towels
Hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup (113g) salted butter, softened
- 6 Tbsp (75g) granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp (75g) packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240g) canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling!)
- 3 oz (85g) bittersweet chocolate (60-70%), roughly chopped (you can use dark or semi-sweet chocolate chunks, if preferred). Feel free to add more chocolate if you like!
- 2 Tbsp (25g) turbinado sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Grease every other well of two standard 12-cup muffin tins. (You’ll fill 12 wells total across both pans.)
- Drain pumpkin. Spread 1 cup (240g) pumpkin purée on a double layer of paper towels, press another layer on top, and blot.
- Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 1½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, and ¼ tsp kosher salt.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, cream ½ cup (113g) softened salted butter with 6 Tbsp (75g) granulated sugar and 6 Tbsp (75g) brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Don’t cut this short, as beating air into the butter helps the muffins rise just as much as the leaveners.
- Add eggs. Add 2 large eggs one at a time, mixing on medium until each is fully combined and scraping down the bowl in between. Mix in 1½ tsp vanilla extract.
- Add pumpkin. With the mixer off, add the blotted pumpkin. Mix on low until incorporated, then scrape the sides down and bottom of the bowl. The batter will look curdled and separated at this stage. Purée is mostly water, and it can’t emulsify into the butter. It pulls back together when the flour goes in.
- Add dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until only a few streaks of flour remain. Add 3 oz (85g) chopped chocolate and fold in by hand until just combined. Stopping while the batter still looks slightly underworked keeps the crumb tender.
- Fill muffin tins. Scoop the batter into the prepared wells, filling about ¾ cup — a large cookie scoop makes quick work of this. Sprinkle each with turbinado sugar, about 2 Tbsp (25g) total.
- Bake. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 6 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350°F (175°C) without opening the door and bake 10-12 minutes more. Rotate the pans at the 12 minute mark, once the tops have set. That initial blast of heat forces a fast rice before the crumb has a chance to set, which is what gives you the bakery dome.
- Cool. The muffins are done when the tops spring back to a light touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. A completely clean toothpick means they’ve gone a minute or two too far. Cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Tip: Leaving every other well empty gives hot air room to circulate around each muffin, so they rise taller and brown evenly on all sides instead of steaming against their neighbors.
Tip: Canned pumpkin varies a lot in water content brand to brand, and pulling out that excess moisture is the difference between a domed muffin and a dense, gummy one.
Notes
- Make-ahead: Blot the pumpkin (refrigerate, covered) and whisk the dry ingredients up to 1 day ahead.
- Storage: Best the day they’re made; keeps airtight at room temperature for 2-3 days. Warm briefly before to re-melt the chocolate, or (pro move!) halve top to bottom and toast cut-side down in a buttered skillet until golden.
- Freezing baked muffins: Cool completely, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap, and freeze in a zip-top bag with the air pressed out for up to 3 months. Thaw still wrapped at room temperature for 1-2 hours so condensation collects on the plastic, not the muffin. Unwrap and warm at 300°F (150°C) for 8-10 minutes.
- Spices: Swap the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 3397IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg
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