Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Muffins

Published Oct. 19, 2022

Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Muffins
NYTCREDIT: Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(1,101)
Comments
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These chocolate-and-pumpkin muffins make a perfect breakfast on the go, the two flavors united by a hint of cinnamon. If you’d like to dress them up for a party, start by adding 2 tablespoons of finely chopped chocolate to the chocolate batter before scooping it into the cups and skip the sugar topping. Bake and cool the muffins, then top them with a simple cream cheese frosting: Beat together 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 4 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter and ½ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar. Spread the frosting liberally on the muffins and top with chocolate sprinkles.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 muffins
  • 2cups/256 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • ¾cup/165 grams packed light or dark brown sugar
  • ½cup vegetable oil
  • 1(15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (about 1¾ cups); see Tip
  • 2large eggs
  • ¼cup plain whole-milk yogurt
  • teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½cup/47 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

316 calories; 11 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 32 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 222 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, pumpkin purée, eggs, yogurt and vanilla extract.

  2. Step 2

    Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Divide the batter in half.

  3. Step 3

    Add the cocoa powder to one half of the batter and mix until just combined.

  4. Step 4

    Add alternating scoops of each batter to the muffin cups until you’ve used it all up. Using a butter knife, swirl the batters together without combining them fully. Sprinkle the tops generously with granulated sugar.

  5. Step 5

    Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and let them stand on the rack to cool completely. The muffins will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature, in an airtight container.

Tip
  • The texture of pumpkin purées vary from brand to brand. Thinner purées will yield more delicate muffins, but they will still be delicious.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,101 user ratings
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Comments

These were delicious and a big hit with my family! I did significantly reduce the sugar as follows: half cup brown sugar & quarter cup of granulated.

Made the following adjustments: cut sugars by about 1/3; added a dash of nutmeg, dash of ginger, and dash of cardamom; used 1/2 whole wheat flour. These are great! Still quite sweet but not overly sweet for an indulgent muffin. Despite the whole wheat flour, they are light and fluffy. I added the chocolate first and then swirled with a skewer, which I twirled around while also mixing. I think 10-12 twirl/mixes is just about right to get a good swirl.

To those that write how this recipe wasn’t great - if you change a baking recipe don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work. Baking is a science and there are ratios for a successful bake. Once that’s established you can riff away. Check your oven temps, too.

The recipe is *very* sweet, but it's a great pantry buster, which is what I needed.

My family loves these, and I have made them many times. As others noted, the chocolate batter becomes thicker with the addition of cocoa, and consistently the recipe makes a few extra muffins. I usually roast squash instead of using canned pumpkin purée, but I do use an immersion blender to get it smooth. This last time, I used cottage cheese for the yogurt, which worked out well.

I used fresh puree and added maybe a tablespoon of flour. Since I wanted it to be more pumpkin/ less chocolate I reduced the chocolate batter portion to about 1/4, but added chocolate chips and walnuts. Cream cheese frosting was an amazing addition.

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