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.Now...one thing Sara and I have both discovered over the last few days is that there's apparently some kind of canned pumpkin shortage going on. Don't think I wasn't saying some naughty words last Friday when, after leaving Kroger pumpkin-less, got caught in a MASSIVE rainstorm on my way to Walmart (and believe me, Walmart on a Friday afternoon is pretty much enough to justify anti-anxiety medication in my world), dragged my two kids inside for one single, lonely, sad can of pumpkin, and then discover they were out as well. Sara, being much more of an investigator than I am, discovered that there's a massive shortage of canned pumpkin, so if you see some, STOCK UP! Hoard it! Sell it on Ebay at exorbitant prices! We're in a recession, people--desperate times call for desperate measures!
Whew. Crazy pumpkin rant over. Luckily for for you, this recipe has 3 ingredients and is super easy, so once you've found your pumpkin, you'll have just enough energy to make and eat these.
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 spice cake mixes (Duncan Hines, although not pictured, is the best for this recipe)
1 30-oz. can pumpkin
1 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Okay, super-tricky here. 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.
Yum, right? Easy, right?
Yum, right? Easy, right?
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.
P.S. Those of you in Utah, don't forget to check out Sara at 11:00 on Thursday on KSL's Studio 5! If you can't watch, we'll be posting her recipe here on the blog at the exact same time and you won't want to miss it!
WW Points: 1
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Wow these look sooooo good! I cant tell you how frustrating it is that I no longer have access to canned pumpkin!
ya know, fresh pumpkin is ten times better than canned! Yes, it may take the easiness out of these muffins, but I've been making pumpkin pie from it for years now by just baking sections of pumpkin with butter, peeling it after that and putting my food processor to work! It yields so much more than a can of pumpkin and freezes well too. *disclaimer: you'll need to wait until they actually go on sale though! :)* I really liked your story though! I'm sorry you went through that with you kids and bad weather. it sound a little too familiar. Thanks for the recipe too!
I am ready for fall treats. These look wonderful!
Okay, first of all- while homemade pumpkin puree has its place- it would *seriously* detract from the beauty of a 3-ingredient recipe that takes only seconds (not even minutes!) to prepare, lol. I think this one is all about the whipping out a can- that's the beauty of it!
I tried these and my family (especially the kiddos) loved them. I thought they might be a little dense without an egg in there but I was pleasantly surprised when they baked up light and fluffy. Loved them! Can't wait to try them with other cake mix flavors (IF I can ever find pumpkin again!!)
I wanted to add that if you're having trouble finding canned pumpkin, but you can find the Libby's Pumpkin Pie *Filling* I used that and it worked fine.
what about some type of crumb topping on these? would that make it too complicated?
I love these and have been making them for years. When I do Weight watchers they totally satisfy my sweet tooth. I haven't put chocolate chips in them yet but since I am pregnant who cares about WW right?
I guess I'd better stock up on pumpkin! The muffins look quick and tasty!
It is pumpkin season, isn't it? These look yo yummy for words!
I use this same recipe for cookies. Never thought to plop them in muffin tins instead! I'll have to try it - thanks!
These look so yummy!! Pumpkin has been on my shopping list for three weeks now and the shelves have been empty...thanks for the shortage info! IF I do find some, I'm stocking up!!!
I love the trick of pumpkin instead of the oil in cake mixes! So tasty :)
Had NO idea there was a canned pumpkin shortage!! I'll be sure to check it out next time I'm at the store. Luckily we still have a couple cans in our food storage [hooray for food storage]!! Just a thought... shouldn't these maybe be named Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes?! You know, with the cake mix and chocolate chips and all?! ;) Totally kidding and will try these soon - maybe once fall seems to have really hit - we've actually had some nice weather lately.
I make this recipe as cookies -- super easy and delicious. Drop by TBSPs onto a cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 mins at 300 degrees. I always get asked for the recipe!
I got this recipe from a college roommate. We always make them as cookies. You can make them into big fat cookies or little bite sized ones to have as a finger food. Sometimes we even put a cream cheese glaze/frosting on them. Even better that way.
i've been making pumpkin spice muffins like this for a few years now, and they are truly the best ever! sometimes i add dried cranberries and/or nuts as well as choc chips - so good! i stock up on pumpkin at the holidays and then make the muffins throughout the year.
Good thing I stalked up on canned pumpkin last holiday season when it was on sale--I have a whole bunch of it down in my storage room! Selling them on e-bay might not be a bad idea...
I've also used this recipe for years! You can make them as pumpkin "cookies" with it too--just drop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for like 10 min. Very yummy! I love all things pumpkin!! And adding choc. is a must!
Wow that IS easy, they look great!
I wonder how it would be with white chocolate chips...
I just posted the sister recipe to these on my blog www.sandiegocooks.blogspot.com but the hidden secret is you HAVE to use ghiradelli (sp?)milk chocolate chips and they are better the second day. The second secret is to put some cream cheese frosting on top. Not WW friendly at that point but SO tastebud friendly!
these were so yummy! I can't believe how little ing. there were and if you don't use choc chips they are only 1 point!! They are so good for my sweet tooth and I don't feel guilty eating them. I will for sure make those again! Thanks for sharing all your awesome recipes!
I have been looking for a pumpkins muffin recipe for a while now. I bought canned pumpkin about a month ago to add to food storage, thinking, what would we do if we couldn't have pumpkin pie for the holidays? We are starting to have some fall weather, so bring on the fall food. Any idea how long I would want to cook them if I make mini ones?
Okay...so I'm eating one as I type! They're fab! I couldn't find canned pumpkin anywhere, so I bought a pie pumpkin and cooked it up. The label said to knock off the stem, pierce it with a fork and bake it @ 350 for 60 - 90 minutes. Then I cut it open, scooped out the seeds and then scooped the flesh right out of the skin. It was totally easy and I was able to make these killer muffins! Yay! I subbed walnuts for the chips though, because my wacky husband is a chocolate hater! Booo! I'm so glad I have lots for the freezer!
I halved the recipe & used one 15 oz. can of pumpkin & one box of cake. They are in the oven right now.
So, I'm dying to know....why do you double your cupcake liners??
Haha Jenn. *I* double purely for photographic purposes! Sometimes batters "bleed" through liners and doubling them up makes it so the outer liner stays nice and bright and clean- and pretty for pictures! lol
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.
These turned out delicious, but they do remind me more of the texture of pumpkin cookies. No one in my house is complaining though....
It is just too weird that I see this today. Last week, I found this exact recipe for Pumpkin Cookies on a blog, and went in a desperate search for canned pumpkin.
I was a little obsessed, and wished I had read your note that Pumpkin Pie filling worked fine! I saw that in the FIVE stores I went to... but finally found 2 cans of the real magilla in my local tiny store of all places. I had been to all the bigger chains first!
Anyway. The kids did love them.
But I have to admit, they were not the Bunco chics favorite.. and NOT worth the amount of gas I spent looking for the pumpkin. WAY too healthy for that! I needed sinful decadent sweet pumpkin cake with white cream cheese frosting for the effort I put into those darn cookies!
Oh, and btw I live in Illinois. so the shortage is nationwide.
I make these weekly with chocolate cake mix (until the pumpkin shortage) that is! So easy and full of fiber. I put in them in ziplocks and pop in the freezer for an eazy breakfast for the kids!
hey best bites gals! i made these over the weekend and they were delish!!!
Thank you SO much for the recipe! :) I did have buckets of shredded zucchini i needed to use up, so i added a cup of zucchini to the second batch (and i added a snack cup of applesauce cuz my zucchini wasn't watery. It was a delicious variation!!
I also HAD to come and tell everyone that COSTCO has the 3 packs of the Libby pumpkin (the 29 oz cans) RIGHT NOW - and they have TONS!!! :) I was so excited when I went there friday nite after reading that the pumpkin shortage was everywhere! (i had searched 4 different stores to make your divine pumpkin cheesecake last week!)
So - needless to say i stocked up!!!
sara
I just found your blog and I'm already in heaven - I feel my belt being loosened a notch already. It all sounds SO good! :)
Okay, so I just found you blog a few days ago by way of Lolly Chops, and I have to say I am in love. Your recipes are divine! I am actually thinking about making these pumpkin muffins this morning! Yummy! Pumpkin muffin to go with a pumpkin shake! Where could ya go wrong here?
I love your blog...I just thought I would add that this recipe makes awesome cupcakes. Don't add the chocolate chips and get a can of store bought cream cheese frosting, mix in a bunch of cinnamon (just add to taste). Ice the cupcakes with this and they are soooo yummy.
If you want to half the recipe you can use a 15 oz can of pumpkin and just one cake mix.
I wanted to make these but used my last can of pumpkin last week (!) and couldn't find it at my local stores. I substituted 25 oz of applesauce and chopped some canned apples to mix in. Of course, they're not pumpkin...but the kids loved them and they're still healthier than most. :)
I made these last weekend for a football tailgate. They were super easy to make. In my opinion, they were good, but not amazing. However, I did get quite a few positive comments about them and my friends were impressed that they were so easy to make. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can't wait to try more of your delicious recipes!
Although I think the "easy pumpkin chocolate chip" recipe sounds great...apparently I’m a computer nim-whit because every time I click on “rolls” it brings me back to this recipe. Am I doing something wrong? I just want a yummy roll recipe dang it.:)
Irnonically, my husband just brought home recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last night. It was this recipe! I like the idea of muffins better. Muffins sound so much healthier than cookies or cupcakes! LOL! I have a banana chocolate chip muffin recipe that my kids just gobble up. I can't wait to try the pumpkin ones!
So you don't mix the cake mixes as you normally would all you add is pumpkin? Sounds great, can't wait to try these out!
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.
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!! :)
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 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!
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. :)
so you can use anything other than choc. chips if you want to?
thanks
busy mom--yep, you could use anything--raisins, nuts, etc. Hope that helps!
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.
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.
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