Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love everything about the fall – the cooler weather, the changing leaves, apple picking, and everything to do with pumpkins that comes out at this time of year.   Call me basic all you want, but I’m going to wear my leggings, sweater dress, and cozy boots while eating or drinking something pumpkin related. 😉

And while we didn’t make it out to the pumpkin patch this year (our CSA gave us pumpkins!), I knew I wanted to get some adorable pictures of Devon in a fall setting.  Luckily, our apartment complex leasing building had a pretty cute display with haystacks and pumpkins set up right in front of the door to the office.  I’m pretty sure people thought I was a bit crazy out there, sitting on the ground in front of the office snapping pictures, but hey – how adorable is this?!

Since official fall photos were done, it was only fitting that I bake the family something pumpkiney to celebrate.  While I made some pumpkin frappucinos earlier this month, my hubby isn’t a big fan of coffee so I wanted to come up with a different pumpkin recipe.  I actually have two awesome ones that I developed – these sweet pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that I am sharing today, and a more savory dish that I’ll share with you next week.

These muffins are lovely.  They’re dairy, egg, and soy free for anyone with intolerences to those products, and are vegan friendly (so long as specific brands of sweeteners are used that don’t involve bone char processing).  They may be slightly denser than you’re used to because of these reasons, but they’re rich and delicious.

{Fun fact:  The structure in the muffin that’s typically given by eggs is substituted with aquafaba, the liquid leftover in a can of beans.  Sounds crazy, but works wonders in baking.}

Keep in mind that even though these have pumpkin in them and are made with whole grain – they are most definitely still a treat!  Enjoy one occasionally for dessert and freeze the rest. 🙂

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 muffins — Vegan friendly if you use sugar products that do not involve a bone char filtering process (the natural section of many grocery stores carry these products or alternative sweeteners you can use).

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Ingredients:

1/3 cup aquafaba (liquid from a can of beans, preferably chickpeas or pinto beans in this recipe)
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup pumpkin puree (either canned or made fresh from roasted pumpkin flesh)
1/2 cup granulated sugar*
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (whole “white wheat” otherwise known as whole wheat pastry flour works well for this recipe – I like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur varieties)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life because they are free of allergens)

* = though I haven’t experimented with cutting the sugar back, I think you could easily reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup each and be fine with the taste.

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. {I use a kitcheaid mixer so I don’t bother softening the coconut oil beforehand, but if you don’t have a mixer it might help to soften it so it blends into the batter more easily.}
2. Bake at 375 F for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Nutrition analysis (approximate per muffin):

250 calories, 12 g fat, 9 g sat fat, 37 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 22 g sugar, 3 g protein
Vitamin A: 64%, Calcium: 8%, Iron: 8%

Share with me:  Do you LOVE the fall?  What’s your favorite part of fall?  What’s your favorite pumpkin related recipe to make this time of year?

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Chrissy Carroll

Chrissy Carroll is a Registered Dietitian and USAT Level I Triathlon Coach. She specializes in sharing nutrition and fitness tips, as well as recipes, for runners, triathletes, and active women.Chrissy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition, a Masters Degree in Public Health, and is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer.

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