Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins

Thursday night after I got home from work, I had this great idea… I was going to BAKE!

I even made a special trip at the grocery store to buy chocolate chips because I had pumpkin and chocolate on my mind (and we all know I can’t really keep chocolate chips in my house.)

We had a big team meeting on Friday morning, so I knew I’d be taking the goods to work for the co-workers to enjoy…

And then… the weather got crazy and the flooding began. Then, it was just me, and 14 muffins at my house.

Needless to say, I found myself in a bit of a predicament. After all, saying “no thanks to cake” is one of my struggles… so after eating two for breakfast, I put these bad boys in the freezer.

The good news is I can confidently tell you… they are GREAT frozen! I’ve been eating them one at a time, cooking them in the microwave for 20 seconds to achieve the perfect thaw.

The muffins as a whole have a fabulously spicy goodness that I think you’re going to love, plus a pop of chocolate that just make them even more fun. I’ve made these muffins many times without the chocolate chips as well, and you can definitely leave them out if you prefer.

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins

Inspired by Skinnytaste

Serves 14

INGREDIENTS

1 Spice Cake Mix

1 15 oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine cake mix and pumpkin in a large bowl, mixing with an electric mixer until batter is smooth. Note: You will want to add water, thinking you need to thin out the mix. Don’t do it!

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins | No Thanks to Cake

3. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (or add cupcake liners), and add batter to each cup dividing the batter equally amongst the cups. Note: I used liners since I was taking these to work, but normally, I don’t use them. I also used one of those mini ice cream scoops to fill the cups – – so easy!

5. With a spoon slightly wet with water, smooth out the tops of each muffin. Note: The batter will bake differently than normal muffins, with strange peaks if you don’t smooth them out. Totally optional, but I like mine to look pretty.