Fall is here!!! It has been for several weeks but this past week, the fall baking cravings hit me hard! These muffins are amazing! I made them a few times last year but never with the greatest results. I have a tough time with muffins; they can seem so simple to make but are very easy to under or over mix or bake if you’re making them from scratch. These muffins have been described like mini pumpkin pies and they have been universally loved by my taste-testers! The original recipe calls for walnuts and raisins to be added but I don’t love either of those two in muffins so I made a few changes. Also, with this recipe, I was finally able to use the Halloween themed muffin liners that my boyfriend got me and they make me absurdly happy.

The original recipe is from The Village Baker’s Wife, a cookbook by Gayle Ortiz that came out in the seventies! My neighbor was the first to introduce me to it and it’s been my favorite cookbook to bake out of for all-American favorites. The recipes are near fool proof and are versatile for scaling up and scaling down. The book says that this recipe makes about 18 muffins and it really makes me wonder about the size of the bakery’s muffin tins! This recipe easily makes 30 muffins made in the standard 3 by 4 tins that most people have at home. Being slightly limited by my college dorm, I made a mini loaf with the extra batter because I only have two muffin tins. The muffins don’t take long to bake, 15-20 minutes and are worth waiting for them to cool completely before eating! Like with cookies, the chips become molten in the baking process and will burn your mouth if not cooled! The recipe also doesn’t use a full 15 oz can of pumpkin. It uses most of it but there’s just a little bit left over at the end. I wouldn’t put that extra bit in the recipe because it’ll make it a little too wet and it won’t bake properly. It’s too little to make anything substantial but let me know if you come up with a good use for it because I love not wasting food! Enjoy baking and I hope you’re having a lovely fall!

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

• 3 large eggs
• 446 grams (2 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 170 grams (6 oz or 3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (should still be a liquid)
• 380 grams (1 2/3 cup) pumpkin puree, canned is fine
• 400 grams (3 1/3 cup) All Purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line two or three standard muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, butter, and pumpkin.
3. In a smaller bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, spices, nuts, and chocolate chips.
4. Gently add the dry ingredients to the wet (flour mix to egg mix). Mix until there are just a few dry spots. Those spots will be absorbed in baking and by leaving a few, it prevents over mixing.
5. Scoop batter into lined muffin cups with an ice cream scoop.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes. The muffins are done when a knife inserted in their center comes out clean or when the tops spring back to the touch.
7. Cool in the tins until cool enough to handle. Cool on a wire rack and eat!