Happy Last Monday of October! Can you believe that Halloween is on Friday? I may need to get more candy… *burp*
Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.
Despite to proliferation of candy in my house, Halloween (to me at least) means pumpkin baked goods. And my favorite pumpkin baked good is pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
My parents discovered these nuggets of happiness during a winter festival in our downtown many, many years ago. They loved them so much and actually bought the muffin recipe book so that they could make them for the rest of their lives.
And they have. These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins have become insanely popular amongst our family and friends. They have become fixtures during our elementary school playdates, become a bonding moment with college roommates, and midnight snacks for dietetic interns.
All in all, they are pumpkin perfection. Here’s my adaptation of my favorite holiday treat.
In a skillet heated over medium heat, toast up some sliced almonds. Watch them carefully, or they’ll burn!
A note about the type of almonds to use. My dad prefers sliced almonds. My mom prefers slivered almonds. My sister prefers no almonds. I prefer whatever gets the muffins into my mouth the fastest… and since I only had sliced almonds, that’s what I used. But feel free to use slivered almonds if you want. Follow your bliss!
In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Stir to combine.
Then in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can do this by hand if you want!), dump in some pumpkin puree and two eggs.
Beat them together until combined.
Please excuse the dark, grainy photo…
With the mixer on low, pour in some melted butter.
Then slowly add in the dry ingredients.
When the dry ingredients are just combined, remove the bowl from the mixture and dump in the toasted slivered almonds and some mini chocolate chips.
Stir to combine and then portion out into mini muffin tins.
I used a tablespoon but a mini ice cream scooper would be the best to get each one the same size.
Then bake them up!
And dig in!
As much as I love them room temperature, they taste even better frozen (but that’s just me!). A spectacular treat for after-school snack, dessert, or midnight snack by the light of the fridge.
Enjoy the last bit of October, kiddos.
Your pumpkin lovin’ friend,
C
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients:
½ cup of raw almonds, slivered or sliced
1⅔ cups of all-purposed flour
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon of ground allspice
1 teaspoon of baking soda
¼ teaspoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 heaping cup plain pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Steps:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease 4 mini muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a skillet heated over medium heat, toss in the almonds and toast until golden brown.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or if you want to work out your arm muscles, you can mix the batter by hand!), add in pumpkin puree and eggs. Beat together until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the melted butter. Stir until combined.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Remove from stand mixer.
- Fold in toasted almonds and mini chocolate chips. Using a tablespoon or a mini ice cream scoop, portion out the batter into the greased mini muffin tins.
- Bake the muffins for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Cool completely before serving… but they taste even better when frozen!
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Muffins by Elizabeth Alston.
Nutrition Information (1 muffin):
94 calories • 13gm carbohydrates • 1gm fiber • 1gm protein • 5gm fat • 2gm saturated fat • 63mg sodium • 17mg cholesterol • 1mg iron • 12mg calcium
[…] small Tupperware of pumpkin puree that needed to be used up. The amount was too small for pancakes, muffins, or bread, but there was just enough for an experiment… I decided that I was going to make […]