Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Muffins

Oh boy oh boy.

Muffins. Are. Legit.


Fluffy, moist and basically a naked cupcake that we somehow justify to ourselves as breakfast food even though a naked cupcake we KNOW would NOT be a breakfast food BUT because they are so damn delicious we just let it slide.



And these...are...oh LORD.


SO GOOD.


If you missed my sky-high Snickerdoodle Muffins then..I feel bad for you, son. But if I may suggest another option, it's THIS one:

I usually push muffins aside. I think in my mind, they are one of those delicious thing that you know is horrible for you and doesn't provide that much satisfaction. As a young person who was always dieting..I never really had muffins except for a few random times when I was younger maybe.


Well.

What a fool, was I.

Muffins are as healthy or unhealthy as you make them. And realistically the ones you get at the bakeries and coffee shops are 2-3 times the size as the ones you make at home!

Plus you cannot buy THESE at the coffee shop.


Sorry, Tim.

Pumpkin is a great ingredient for retaining moisture. And these muffins are moist. But not in a yucky-I-don't-like-the-word-moist-get-these-away-way.



In a DELICIOUS-OMG-IM-EATING-TEN-HUNDRED...way.

In my mind these are a wonderful treat with coffee after a brisk night walk, the perfect start to a Sunday morning and the ideal breakfast treat with family after thanksgiving.


Gotta use that canned pumpkin up, right?!



I know you can't really tell in the photo but...trust me. VERY satisfying. And I highly suggest having them fresh out of the oven when the chocolate chips are melty and glorious.

 Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yields 1 dozen large or 2 dozen small muffins 

Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Vegan

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar 
• 2 large eggs, room temperature or 2 teaspoons egg replacer plus 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond milk mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar ('buttermilk'), to thin batter (you may need a splash more so have some extra!)
• Optional: 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

*Alternative flour mixture: 1 3/4 cup oat flour, 3/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line muffin pans with liners 
2. In a medium sized bowl sift all dry ingredients 
3. In a large mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients 
4. Add dry mixture to wet until combined, using almond milk to thin out mixture (mixture will still be quite thick but this will depend on the flour blend -- use only 1/4 cup at first and only if you have a hard time stirring the batter should you add a splash more!) 
5. Fold in chocolate chips 
6. Scoop mixture into liners about 2/3 of the way full and top (if desired) with coarse sugar
7. Bake at 400F for 5-8 minutes until the domes start to rise and then decrease the heat to 365F for the remaining 18-22 minutes of baking. Bake until top becomes slightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

It sound like a load of ingredients, but it comes together really quickly, I swear! A quick way to get it all room temperature/melted together is to stick the wet ingredients in the microwave until they are slightly warm. EXCEPT the eggs. Don't ever do that! Haha But you can stick them in a bowl of warm water until they warm up.


Why?


Incorporation and emulsion my friends. That's science. Basically you want everything to meld together nicely -- and if your ingredients are cold your coconut oil will sieze and get clumpy and bah. Big ol' mess.

 

And muffins are always worth the extra step.

Fun fact? I thought those candy pumpkins would totally be delicious. And usually I LOVE them. But apparently these were stale and oh so gross.



Oh well. Still look pretty cute ;)

If I may be so bold, I also highly suggest foil liners for this too. They are pretty and I find they just hold up so much better than the paper ones.

Which is a damn shame because those are really cute most of the time.

Anyone have any tricks for making those...more...stable?! I also find mine get faded and eaten away by the cupcake/muffin/etc.

Again... Look at that interior! *anyone else say that in Wiz Khalifa's voice? No? Just me?!*





Hopefully you try these out and let me know how they go! Seriously one of my favourite, most straight-forward fool-proof recipes!



Happy Muffin Making!


XO