National Pumpkin Day! Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffin Recipe

Happy National Pumpkin Day! Happy Friday! Today is a great day because pumpkin day and Friday happened to land on the same day this year. That calls for celebration! Celebration in the form of these super tasty, borderline addictive Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins. I’m one of those people who believes pumpkin is a year-round flavor but I still love celebrating its abundance in the fall. Especially in the form of baked goods. Considering my love for pumpkin, I was a bit shocked at the lack of pumpkin recipes in the index! Clearly that needs to change, starting with these muffins. They’re perfect for a quick breakfast, mid-morning snack, or late night indulgence. The cinnamon chips add an extra bit of goodness as well.

I live with pumpkin haters. Depressing, I know. However, these muffins won one of them over. If the other two would give them a shot, I'm willing to bet they would win them over too. I swear the cinnamon chips make a huge difference between amazing and downright sinful. Where any pumpkin lover would go for these chip-free, pumpkin haters and those on the fence can be brought around with the chips included. Cinnamon chips are just what they sound like - chips in the flavor of cinnamon. They’re in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips. If they’re too hard to find, you could substitute butterscotch if that’s your thing. Any form of chocolate would also work but I thought the cinnamon would really bring out the warm spices in the muffins. Spoiler alert: I was right.

Muffins are one of my favorite things to bake other than simple sweet breads. They can usually whip up in one bowl and they’re much more forgiving than things like cupcakes and pastries. A little experimentation is acceptable and won’t lead to much trouble. The mess is small, ahem, one bowl - and that’s something I can always get behind. Besides the ease of baking, muffins are loved by just about everyone. Of course, we all have our preferences but I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say they don’t like muffins. There is so much you can do with them. Go savory with shredded veggies or go ultra indulgent with dark chocolate. Muffins can be comforting like a warm corn muffin on a cold day with a steaming bowl of soup. They can be satiating like a blueberry muffin with a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. They come miniature and they come over-sized. However you like your muffins, the chances are you’ve had at least one that you love. I just hope these Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins become one of those.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins
Ingredients:
½ cup Butter, melted
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
¾ cup Milk
¾ cup Brown Sugar
2 cups Flour
1 tbsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Nutmeg
¼ tsp. Ginger
¼ tsp. Cloves
1 cup Cinnamon Chips (optional but recommended)

Directions:
1 - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prep a muffin tin with cups or spray with cooking spray.

2 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, pumpkin, egg, vanilla, milk and brown sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix until just incorporated. Fold in the cinnamon chips, if using.

3 - Fill muffin cups most of the way. Bake 12-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to a cooling rack to cool.

Yields appx. 18 regular-sized muffins OR 9 jumbo-sized muffins*

*If using jumbo-sized muffin tins, increase bake time to 22-25 minutes.