Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes – pumpkin cupcakes studded with chocolate chips, topped with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sauce. This recipe is the perfect way to cure your pumpkin cravings this fall! Created by our contributor, Lindsay Conchar.
I don’t know about you, but as soon as summer starts winding down I get excited about pumpkin season. I’m pretty sure I let out a little squeal of excitement when I saw pumpkin spice coffee in the grocery store the other day. My kitchen is already stocked with that coffee and pumpkin spice creamer. I even had some pumpkin spice ice cream at an ice cream shop the other day and it was so darn good! This is one of my favorite things to look forward to every fall.
These cupcakes are even better than your average pumpkin dessert because not only are they pumpkin, but they also include chocolate. Plus, they are really easy to make. If you’re keeping score, that’s two wins for one recipe!
For the cupcakes, I wanted to make sure that the chocolate chips wouldn’t all sink to the bottom. Rather than using the creaming method, I use a simpler method of mixing things together and the chocolate chips stay evenly spread throughout the cupcakes. I also played around with the amount of butter, milk and vegetable oil to make sure they were both moist and not too dense. Reducing the butter and adding the vegetable oil helps to lighten the cupcakes a little bit but still allow for plenty of fat and moisture in the cupcakes.
The final result is a wonderfully moist cupcake that is just light enough and still keeps the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom. I even used full-sized chocolate chips to make sure you get plenty of chocolate in every bite! I love the final result!
I topped the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. It’s always a wonderful frosting to pair with pumpkin and I think it’s even better with the chocolate mixed in. It balances everything really well. I topped my cupcakes with a drizzle of chocolate sauce to give them that lovely finishing touch! Feel free to add your favorite finish to them and enjoy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Pumpkin spice cupcakes studded with chocolate chips, topped with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sauce
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 12 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons milk, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar, unpacked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
For the Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup salted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chocolate sauce, optional
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Add butter, oil and milk to a large mixer bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and eggs and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Fold in the pumpkin puree and chocolate chips until well combined.
- Fill each cupcake liner about ¾ full.
- Bake cupcakes for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Make the Frosting:
- Combine the cream cheese and butter and mix until smooth.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Use a large round piping tip to pipe swirls onto the cupcakes. Top with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, if desired.
Notes
- Store cupcakes in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.
Pretty as a picture, and a pure taste of fall. Love it.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PURE PUMPKIN & PUMPKIN PUREE? WHY MUST I SEND FOR THIS & PAY POSTAGE WHEN ALL THE STORES HAVE ALL THE PUMPKIN IN THE WORLD!
Hi Carol – you can use any canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree, whichever you prefer!
Hi I love the recipes. How can I print just the recipe!! When I try to print I get 19 pages of all that is on the page!
Thanks
Mary
We’ve made some website updates and you can now print just the recipe – hopefully it’s easier than ever to try one of our recipes! Enjoy!
O.M.G! I’ve just come across this site in search for some cake recipes for me to try and everything looks absolutely gorgeous!!! How long have you guys been baking?
I’m assuming the recipe calls for ground nutmeg, ginger, and cloves?
Yes it does! They’re listed in the ingredient list and added to the cupcake batter in step #5. =)
Thought you’d appreciate a comment from someone who actually made the cupcakes lol.
Followed recipe exactly as written and they were absolutely delicious. Wouldn’t adjust a thing. Beautiful, tender and just enough pumpkin flavor.
You nailed it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made these and they were delicious!!! Could this recipe be made into a layered cake?
Yes, this recipe should work just fine as a layer cake. Enjoy!
I do not have the individual spices…can I use pumpkin pie spice? and if so, how much?
Yes, you could substitute pumpkin pie spice for the individual spices. Use 1¾ teaspoons. Enjoy!
Just love your recipes, hi my name is Larraine, and iam a homebaker as well, I would appreciate it very much if you would check on my Facebook page and Instagram as well ..
thank you.. Larraine 😍
Do you think I can make the cake part ahead and freeze them? I’ve made them before and just love them, but I need to make things ahead for an upcoming Christmas party. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Yes, these should freeze just fine. Allow them to cool completely and then seal them up well to prevent any freezer burn/taste. Allow the cupcakes to thaw before frosting. I leave them wrapped while thawing to prevent extra moisture/condensation from forming on the cupcakes. This can cause the wrapper to pull away from the cupcake. Hope your Christmas party is a blast!