There’s a very specific moment every September when I start craving pumpkin and chocolate together, and honestly, I don’t fight it anymore. These pumpkin chocolate muffins are the recipe I reach for when I want something that tastes like a bakery treat but comes together in one bowl before my coffee gets cold.
They’re rich, a little fudgy in the middle, and loaded with chocolate chips in every bite — not the “healthy muffin trying to be a dessert” kind, but the “I’m having this for breakfast and not sorry about it” kind.
Why You’ll Love These
- One bowl, minimal cleanup. Melt the butter, whisk, mix, bake.
- 18 muffins means you’re covered for a week of breakfasts, or enough to share (or not).
- Cocoa powder in the batter makes these taste like a chocolate cupcake that pumpkin snuck into, not the other way around.
- No mixer required — just two bowls and a whisk.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pumpkin puree
- Unsalted butter, melted
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar
- Sour cream (this is the secret to how moist these stay)
- Eggs + vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda + baking powder
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins
1. Preheat and prep. Oven to 375°F, muffin tin lined with liners.
2. Melt your butter. Chop it into a few pieces and microwave in 30-second bursts until fully melted.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, pumpkin puree, both sugars, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs until smooth.
4. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. Combine — gently. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and whisk just until combined. Overmixing is the #1 way to end up with dense, tough muffins, so stop as soon as you don’t see flour streaks.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Fill and bake. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of batter into each liner and bake 20-22 minutes. You’ll get 18 muffins total, so plan on baking a second small batch of 6 after the first pan comes out.
8. Cool and enjoy. Let them cool in the tin for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.
Tips for the Best Results
- Don’t skip the sour cream. It’s doing a lot of quiet work keeping these muffins from drying out.
- Room temp eggs blend in more evenly if you have a few minutes to let them sit out first.
- Want extra chocolate? A few chips pressed into the tops before baking makes for a prettier muffin top.
- Storage: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with liners.
- Chop butter into pieces and microwave in 30-second increments until melted.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, granulated sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and whisk just until combined — don’t overmix.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Add about 3 tbsp. of batter to each liner. Bake 20-22 minutes, baking a second batch for the remaining 6 muffins.
- Cool and enjoy!
