Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins

I did some major fall baking for these past two weekends straight. The kitchen smelled like sugary pumpkin pie spice and warm cinnamon and made the whole house all cozy and wonderful. I basked in this sweet aroma last Saturday evening as I devoured one of these pumpkin chocolate muffins. They were fresh out of the oven and obviously I couldn't resist. The recipe makes 6 muffins, which I think is the perfect serving size for a family of three. Though the original recipe is the cupcake version and while I do agree that cupcakes are more fun, I still appreciate a hearty and gooey muffin every now and then. These pumpkin chocolate muffins are just that. They're incredibly soft and fluffy, and the chocolate swirls add a special touch to the sweet taste of fall. Definitely let me know if you will be making these this season!

◇ ✳︎ ◇ ✳︎ ◇ ✳︎ ◇

Makes 6 muffins

Ingredients 

For the chocolate batter

1/3 cup flour = (5 tbsp + 1tsp)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup buttermilk*

1 egg yolk

For the pumpkin spice batter

7 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*

1 egg white

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

*I used low fat milk with 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice as a sub

*You can sub in 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp ground ginger for the pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F and place 6 liners in the muffin pan

Make the chocolate batter first. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, whisk the oil, vanilla, brown sugar, buttermilk, and egg yolk. Set aside.

Now for the pumpkin spice batter; in another medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the egg white, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, oil, and granulated sugar. Set aside.

For the chocolate batter, mix the dry ingredients into the large bowl that has its wet ingredients. Then for the pumpkin spice batter, mix the dry ingredients into the other large bowl that has its wet ingredients. 

Layer the batter in the liners. I layered the bottom with a scoop of chocolate first, then the pumpkin, and chocolate, and more pumpkin. Now the fun part! I used a toothpick and swirled the layers on top. You can actually swirl the batter as you pour in each layer for that swirls all around effect!

Bake the cupcakes for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with only a few crumbs.

Since these are muffins (personally, I like to call them naked cupcakes), that means there's no need to wait for them to cool so biting into a fresh-out-of-the-oven muffin is a must! Okay, maybe wait a minute or two, don't want to risk burning yourself.

Recipe adapted from Dessert for Two