Fall euphoria: Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Rainy, fall Sunday mornings are just the best time to bake, right? It has been raining all day here.

These muffins are coziness, happiness, and enchantment all in a treat.
And they're vegan.

Yep, that's right: no butter, no eggs, and no milk are used in this recipe.
I promise, you would NEVER tell the difference. Or wait, yes you would. These are BETTER
than any muffins I've ever made.

These muffins were perfect for sitting around reading, blogging, and doing my homework... I've eaten three by now!

They are super moist and just perfectly spiced with autumn's best flavors: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger...
And, of course, pumpkin.
I can't decide what made the consistency of these muffins so perfect. The pumpkin, or the coconut oil?
Or is it the combination of ALL the wonderful ingredients in this recipe?
You tell me once you've made them (you should, because they are SO. FREAKISHLY.GOOD).

I got the recipe from AverieCooks.com. She used small chocolate chips, but I didn't have any, so I hammered a chocolate bar into chunks. I think it made the muffins more chocolatey than intended... What a shame. Not. ;)

This is what her recipe looks like. I added a few comments.

Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

Ingredients:

-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (this consists of ginger, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and ground cloves. I used a fourth of a tsp each because I didn't have pumpkin pie spice already made)
-1/2 teaspoon allspice
-1/2  teaspoon nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-pinch salt, optional and to taste
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (if you don't have any, regular brown sugar is fine)
-3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
-1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (vegetable or canola oil may be substituted)
-1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (other milks may be substituted: I used soy)
-2 tablespoons molasses
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (regular-sized chips may be substituted, use about 1 1/4 cups; or use 6 to 8 ounces chopped dark chocolate)

 

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Grease and flour a muffin pan; set aside. (Averie says she prefers using muffin pans than liners, because the paper might stick to the muffins)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and optional salt; set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugars, pumpkin, oil, milk, molasses, and vanilla until combined.
4. Pour the wet pumpkin mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined; don't overmix. Batter is quite thick and if yours is seemingly too thick, add a tiny additional splash milk to thin it.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips (I like mini chips in muffins because of the size ratio, but use what you have)
6. Divide batter equally among the cavities of the prepared pan. Each cavity will be just under 3/4 full (don't exceed 3/4 full or they could overflow). Spraying a one-quarter cup measure with cooking spray so the batter slides right off is handy here.
7. Bake for about 15 to 19 minutes (mine only needed 15) , or until tops are domed, puffed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling but no batter. Allow muffins to cool in pans for about 10 to 15 minutes before removing and placing on a rack to cool completely. Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.