Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
Pumpkin keeps these oat muffins moist, rolled oats add a hearty bite, and chocolate chips provide small pockets of sweetness. Resting the batter briefly lets the oats hydrate, producing tender muffins that hold together instead of crumbling.
Equipment and timing
- Standard 12-cup muffin pan
- Paper liners or nonstick spray
- Two mixing bowls
- Whisk and spatula
- Wire rack
Yield: 12 muffins
Preparation: 15 minutes plus 10 minutes resting
Baking: 18 to 22 minutes
Oven: 350°F/175°C
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain pumpkin purée
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line or grease all 12 muffin cups.
- Whisk pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the oats and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- In another bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture only until nearly combined. Fold in 1/3 cup chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cups; they will be about three-quarters full. Sprinkle with the remaining chips.
- Bake 18 to 22 minutes, rotating once, until the tops spring back gently and a tester inserted away from a chocolate chip comes out without wet batter. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack.
Texture cues and troubleshooting
Choose old-fashioned oats for noticeable texture. Quick oats absorb liquid faster and produce a softer muffin, while steel-cut oats remain too firm for this formula. Measure flour lightly; excess flour is the usual cause of dry muffins. Once the dry ingredients are added, stop folding as soon as no flour pockets remain.
Pure pumpkin purée is thick and unsweetened. Pumpkin-pie filling changes both sweetness and moisture and should not be substituted. If the batter seems unusually stiff because the purée is very dense, fold in one tablespoon of milk. Greasy liners can indicate the muffins were left in the hot pan too long, so move them promptly to a rack.
Substitutions and storage
Use dairy or unsweetened nondairy milk. Replace up to half the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour for a more robust crumb, adding a tablespoon of milk if needed. Chopped pecans or dried cranberries may replace some of the chocolate chips.
Cool completely before covering. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap muffins individually and place them in a freezer container for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly until soft.
