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.
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.
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.
Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Description
Perfect for fall, these muffins are simple and delicious! Plus, hey – chocolate chips!
Ingredients
- 2 spice cake mixes
- 1 30-oz. can pumpkin
- 1 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
- Great tip: Duncan Hines, although not pictured, is the best for this recipe.
Questions & Reviews
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 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!
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.
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….
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
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??
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 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?
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 just posted the sister recipe to these on my blog http://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!
I wonder how it would be with white chocolate chips…
Wow that IS easy, they look great!
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!
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 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.
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 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!
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 love the trick of pumpkin instead of the oil in cake mixes! So tasty 🙂
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 use this same recipe for cookies. Never thought to plop them in muffin tins instead! I'll have to try it – thanks!
It is pumpkin season, isn't it? These look yo yummy for words!
I guess I'd better stock up on pumpkin! The muffins look quick and tasty!
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?
what about some type of crumb topping on these? would that make it too complicated?
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.
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 am ready for fall treats. These look wonderful!
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!
Wow these look sooooo good! I cant tell you how frustrating it is that I no longer have access to canned pumpkin!