So I have this friend Tara. Sweet, quiet, soft-spoken Tara who home schools her kids and is the person in charge of the children’s programs at our church. You know the type. Turns out she has a dark side. She and her husband sometimes watch Arrested Development and 30 Rock into the wee hours of the morning (under my corrupting influence, of course!) and she makes these fabulous, easy muffins that are only 1 Weight Watchers point. And then adds chocolate chips to them. Which, of course, not only makes them infinitely more delicious but also not 1 Weight Watchers point. See? Evil. Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Ill-U-sionist.
Even if you have a million, you can store them in the freezer and then pop them into lunch bags or heat one up in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill off before you head out to work or school in the morning or for a snack in the afternoon. Or you can eat, like, three while watching The Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights. Never happens. Never.
Ingredients Needed
- Spice cake mix
- Canned pumpkin
- Semisweet chocolate chips
How to Make Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- These muffins are SO easy! Simply mix a couple of spice cake mixes with a big can of pumpkin and mix it up. Then mix in some chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into lined muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store muffins in an airtight container on the counter and eat within 3-4 days for best results.
- This recipe makes a lot (36-48 muffins depending on how full you fill your liners) so feel free to freeze some for later, or divide the recipe in half.
- If frozen eat within 3 months.
- These really don’t rise very much, so you can fill the tins pretty full. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind that how they look going into the oven is very much what they will look like coming out of the oven. So a cookie scoop works great to keep things on the prettier side.
Frequently Asked Questions
These will definitely bake up well with any flavor of cake mix. Chocolate pumpkin could be good. If all you have are plain white or yellow cake mixes, you can use them as is, or add in some spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, or pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice.
For best results, you want multiple layers of protection to prevent freezer burn. Cool your muffins completely then wrap each muffin tightly in plastic wrap or foil. Place in a large zip-top freezer bag labeled with the contents and date. Remove as much air as possible, zip closed, and freeze. Eat within 3 months of freezing for best results.
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 boxed spice cake mixes
- 30 ounces canned pumpkin one large can
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Combine cake mixes and pumpkin. Add in chocolate chips.
- Spoon mixture into lined muffin tins. This can make as many as 48 muffins or as few as 36, just depending on how full the tins are filled. These really don’t rise very much, so you can fill the tins pretty full. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind that how they look going into the oven is very much what they will look like coming out of the oven. So a cookie scoop works great to keep things on the prettier side.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.
Notes
- Great tip: Duncan Hines, although not pictured, is the best for this recipe.
- Store muffins in an airtight container on the counter and eat within 3-4 days for best results.
- This recipe makes a lot (36-48 muffins depending on how full you fill your liners) so feel free to freeze some for later, or divide the recipe in half.
- To freeze: For best results, you want multiple layers of protection to prevent freezer burn. Cool your muffins completely then wrap each muffin tightly in plastic wrap or foil. Place in a large zip-top freezer bag labeled with the contents and date. Remove as much air as possible, zip closed, and freeze. Eat within 3 months of freezing for best results.
- These will definitely bake up well with any flavor of cake mix. Chocolate pumpkin could be good. If all you have are plain white or yellow cake mixes, you can use them as is, or add in some spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, or pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
Just made these yesterday and I'm in love! What a great, simple and very tasty recipe!
New variation for the kids in the cheap seats who still can't find pumpkin even though it is OBVIOUSLY fall already: one box spice cake mix, 15 oz. can of pear halves (with juice, not syrup) smooshed with a fork, one egg. Add chocolate chips or don't; these babies are light and delicious.
Pears sound yummy too!
I use this exact recipe, but I make them as cookies. You can mix 1 cake mix and 1 small can pumpkin with chocolate chips, nuts, etc… Spray a cookie sheet . Fill tray with 1 to 2 tsp size mounds of "dough". Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. I've made it with German Chocolate Cake mix, too. Spice is my favorite.
busy mom–yep, you could use anything–raisins, nuts, etc. Hope that helps!
so you can use anything other than choc. chips if you want to?
thanks
Hey, Samara! 🙂 You know, so many variations go into baking that it really could just still be that they need to bake a little longer for you. Things like individual ovens (I know you said your is new, but no two ovens bake exactly the same), type of muffin tin (light vs. dark vs. silicone vs. aluminum vs. well, you get the picture. 🙂 ), humidity, and elevation all impact baking time. So as long as they turned out well in the end, you should be okay. 🙂
These were tasty and a bit hit, BUT as I was baking them they were definitely not ready (aka: toothpick came out with pumpkin goo still on it, ha) at 25 minutes. I had to bake them at LEAST 30 minutes to get them fully done, both for the regular sized muffins and for the minis. My oven is new, so I don't see that as the issue. Any thoughts and/or anyone else have to cook them as long as I did? Thanks!
YUM! I also couldn't find pumpkin (but that's maybe because it's March?) so I used a can of that Glory brand "Sweet Potato Casserole" cause it seemed close enough. It is pretty solid so it was REALLY hard to stir, so I threw in a splash of skim milk. RAVE reviews, and I made it during a particularly frantic morning and was still on time to leave the house. I'm a huge fan. Keeping this on file fo sho!
These muffins are SOOO good! I happened to have the 3 ingredients in my cupboards so I mixed up a batch quick and they are so good! Thank you for the great recipe!! I had to hide a couple for a snack tomorrow so my husband doesn't eat them all in the morning!! 🙂
These are amazing, I just whipped then up before Shabbos, but I didn't use a muffin pan, just muffin tins on a cookie sheet so they became jumbo muffins.