Week 3: "It's Fall" Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Nothing says "Fall" quite like pumpkin. (Well, except beautiful falling leaves. And maybe cider. But I digress.) Which is why, for Week 3, we made...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This was another of the first batch of muffin recipes I found on-line. I'm actually not a huge fan of pumpkin-- I basically only eat it as part of my vegetable tempura-- but both the recipe and the pictures looked delicious, and I thought they'd be seasonal and appropriate. (We've clearly already established that "pumpkin" = "Fall." Please see the above (pathetic) excuse for a proof.)

These muffins, however, very nearly didn't get made.

The (mis)adventure started the previous Sunday afternoon, when James and I went to the store. (And ran into a pair of star-crossed lovers frolicking in the leaves, but that's an entirely different story.) Actually, to be more accurate, we went to two stores... neither of which had either canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree! We asked a sales clerk at the second grocery store whether or not they stocked it, and she informed us that no, not only did their store not carry pumpkin, but there was no pumpkin to be had anywhere in Hyde Park!

Depression.

James had quite a time trying to console me, and we were both really confused as to why, so close to Thanksgiving, any large-ish grocery store would even think of not carrying pumpkin. Seriously, not the greatest of business decisions.

Luckily, though, Gary came to the rescue. He very generously took me to a grocery store outside of Hyde Park a few days later, and I got some pumpkin puree and miniature chocolate chips.
Aside: We later discovered (and I was just reminded by Peter) that the pumpkin shortage was actually nationwide. Bad crop season :( We're happy/thankful we got some, though, and I made sure to stock up!

Come Sunday, we were ready. We were also +1; Myla joined us for the first time! (And yes, there was dancing.)

We're such a happy little family :p

The results:

I don't know whether or not you can tell from these pictures, but the muffins were extremely thick. You could sort of see the curves and curls of each dollop of batter, which was interesting.

The muffins were-- at least for me-- a little on the disappointing side. We'd already modified the recipe, but the pumpkin taste was still a little lacking. They were also, as I said, very thick in texture... which is fine, but not exactly what I was expecting.

Nevertheless, at least one person to this day declares that it was their favorite of all our muffins, so I'm going to declare it also a success. I'd like to try a different pumpkin muffin recipe next time, but, if I could make this over again, I think I'd go a little easier on the miniature chocolate chips... and add a 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to kick up the pumpkin flavor. (Don't worry-- I'll change the recipe straight away for you guys... you won't have to edit a thing! :))

And so, without further ado, the modified recipe:

"It's Fall" Recipe (Pumpkin Chocolate Chip - Modified; Original/Base Recipe here, Courtesy of Donna, AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur's)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour the muffin pan or line with paper.
2. Mix the sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl, mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add the wet mixture and stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes.

I'm not gonna turn into a pumpkin at midnight, I swear.
(That's what he said.)