These Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins are made with pumpkin puree, chocolate chips, and fall spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. They are oversized, moist, chocolatey, and perfect for fall weather.
Below are a few tricks to making extra delicious muffins, along with the time and temperature for jumbo, oversized muffins.
These muffins were designed to be made in a jumbo muffin tin, twice the size of standard homemade muffins. Because they are so large they are so much more satisfying (there's more of the middle of the muffin to enjoy), even if you only eat half of one of these muffins in one sitting.
They are great muffins to have in your back pocket for fall days, or after school snacks, just like these Banana Sourdough Muffins. It can even be made into a loaf cake in this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf Bread. I also use the same spices in Banana and Carrot Muffins.
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💡Recipe Inspiration
A couple years ago I made jumbo pumpkin muffins for a roadtrip along the California coast from San Diego to Los Angeles, where we spent a day exploring with the kids. We were staying at an Airbnb at the time and traveling around the country.
I wanted us to get out of the house early since it was a long drive, and I didn’t want to stop for anything along the way which would slow us down. They were good, but not quite right. So I spent the next few weeks, tweaking and perfecting until I arrived at these moist and flavorful pumpkin muffins.
🔍 Recipe Testing
- Spices: Pumpkin muffins can hold up to a lot of spices (unlike some other desserts - for example, with apple pie, I like the apples to shine, not the spices). So I tested adding more cinnamon, more nutmeg, and adding ground cloves.
- Pumpkin: I worked the recipe around using a whole can of pumpkin, rather than just 1 cup. Its hard to find a use for leftover pumpkin puree, so it was important to me that this recipe used an entire 15oz can, which is also the case in this Pumpkin Gnocchi recipe.
- Fat: My original experiment was made with vegetable oil, but that led to bland muffins. Instead this recipe calls for butter to add fat and flavor. I use salted butter.
🌟 What Makes These Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins So Good
- Fall Spices: They are chock full of fall spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, an entire can of pumpkin, and two layers of cinnamon sugar.
- Jumbo: They are huge, bigger muffins equals more of that dense moist muffin that everyone loves about muffins.
- Flavor: They use butter rather than vegetable oil which makes them denser but more flavorful.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins.
- Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour.
- Baking Soda: For leavening.
- Salt: To balance and bring out flavor.
- Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg: Fall spices that add flavor to the muffins. If possible, use high quality ceylon cinnamon. It makes a difference.
- Butter: Use softened, not melted butter. If you have not softened your butter in advance, place it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 40 seconds at 50% power. Turn it over and add 20-30 seconds if needed.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds a subtle more caramel like flavor than granulated sugar.
- Pumpkin: Use canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Eggs: Use large eggs, pasture raised if possible.
- Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla). If you bake somewhat regularly consider buying a large bottle of vanilla extract at Costco, which is often more economical than buying a small bottle at the grocery store and will las you at least a year.
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips: Any brand will do. I typically use Nestel, but Ghirardelli or Guittard are great too. You could also use dark chocolate, or milk chocolate if you like.
- Sugar: Combined with cinnamon for a cinnamon sugar layer in the middle of the muffins and sprinkled on top.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter a jumbo sized muffin tin (or you can use oversized muffin paper liners, which can be found on at JoAnn Fabrics of Amazon).
Tip: Jumbo Muffin Tin Sizes: Jumbo muffin tins actually come in different depths and diameters. I use a muffin tin where each muffin cup is 2½ inches diameter at the bottom, 4 inches in diameter at the top and 1¾ inch in height. In contrast, Nordic Ware sells a muffin tin that is 3 inches in diameter at the bottom, 3.9 at the top, and 1½ inch in height.
These differences will affect the baking time. If you're using a Nordic Ware muffin tin with those dimensions, check your muffins 5-7 minutes before the allotted baking time.
Step 1. Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ½ tablespoon cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The remaining cinnamon will be combined with sugar in Step 5.
Step 2. Combine the Wet Ingredients: In a separate large bowl combine the softened butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract. To save time, I mix the wet ingredients with a hand held mixer.
Step 3. Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. I do this with a spoon, rather than a mixer, to prevent overmixing the batter.
Tip: To avoid tough muffins, stir the batter as little as possible. This will result in lighter and fluffier muffins.
Step 4. Add the Chocolate Chips: Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
Tip: You can use any type of chocolate chips that you like: milk chocolate, bittersweet, dark chocolate, or even omit the chocolate chips alltogether.
Step 5. Assembling the Muffins: Combine the granulated sugar and remaining ½ tablespoon cinnamon.
Add a large spoonful of batter to each muffin cup. Top with a spoonful of cinnamon sugar. Divide the remaining pumpkin muffin batter among the muffin cups. The batter should come to the top of the muffin cups. Top with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Tip: Because these muffins contain chocolate chips which melt in the oven, its a little tricker to discern when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean - it might be covered in melted chocolate which doesn't tell you all that much. I recommend inserting a toothpick into two or three different spots in the muffin to determine if they are fully baked.
❄️ How to Store and Freeze
- To Store: Allow the muffins to cool to room temperature, then lightly cover them in the muffin tin with aluminum foil. They will last 2-3 days.
- To Freeze: Allow the muffins to fully cool and store in a gallon-sized freezer bag, removing as much air as possble. To reheat, let them sit out until thawed or microwave at 50% power until thawed, or toast in a toaster oven and butter them while still warm!
✏️ Jumbo Pumpkin Muffin FAQs
Yes, you can absolutely make this in a loaf pan. Butter and flour a loaf dish. Bake it at 350°F for 45-55 minutes.
Yes, this recipe will make 12 regular sized muffins. Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes.
Yes, you can omit the layer of cinnamon sugar in the middle and the topping. They will not be as sweet, however there is still ½ cup brown sugar in the batter and additional sugar in the chocolate chips.
If You're Interested in More Muffin or Sweet Bread Recipes, You May Love These
If you tried these Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Jumbo Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ and ½ tablespoon cinnamon, divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 15oz can pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Semi sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Butter a jumbo muffin tin or use jumbo sized muffin papers.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ½ tablespoon cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Stir as little as possible until the ingredients are just combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar with the remaining ½ tablespoon cinnamon.
- Add 1 large spoonful of batter to each of the muffin cups. Then add a spoonful of cinnamon sugar to each muffin cup. Add the remaining batter on top of each muffin cup. Then top with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
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