Hello, hello! I realize my space here has been mighty quiet, but now that the first fall Saturday is here, I’m feeling all nostalgic and can’t resist popping by to share again my family’s tradition for fall Saturdays: chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. I’ve written about these numerous times over the years and have posted my boys’ favorite recipe multiple times, too, but I can’t resist sharing again. My boys are 13 years old now (13!! How?!), and they still insist that Saturdays in the fall must start with these muffins. The only difference is that now, one of my sons will sometimes make them himself. But the first Saturday of the season, it is my job and I treasure it.

It’s been three years since I wrote about these little gems, and I thought I’d share that original post again. This post includes not only the vegan version that my boys have loved for the past decade, but also a paleo version I sometimes make as well.

How about you? Do you have any favorite fall traditions?

from November 2014:

I inadvertently started a tradition in my household some years ago. I made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins one fall Saturday morning, and suddenly my kids declared it a thing to be done every Saturday of fall. When my kids love something I’ve done for them, it’s very hard for me to say “no” to doing it again. Maybe I’m a pushover, but I do it because I realize that a day will come when they are not asking me to make pumpkin muffins for them anymore, and I’m sure I’ll miss it. So for now, pumpkin muffins they shall have.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

I think I’ve probably posted about these before. It’s a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock*. I’ve always loved this book. It no longer jibes with my paleo ways, but it’s my kids’ favorite pumpkin muffin recipe, so I oblige. I adapted it to exclude soy milk (which we do not drink), to lower the amount of sugar, and to include chocolate chips.

• 1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 C sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground ginger
• 1/4 t ground allspice
• 1 C pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 C canola oil
• 2 T blackstrap molasses
• 1 C ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, almond milk, oil, and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill the muffin cups 2/3-full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not try to bake bacon in the oven at the same time, or you risk burning the muffins. Trust me on this. Maybe you never try to bake bacon at the same time as anything else, but I do! Let cool for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

I love pumpkin muffins, too, but my husband and I prefer not to eat all that flour (and sugar and canola oil). So I’ve begun making paleo pumpkin muffins from one of my favorite paleo cookbooks, Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great*. Here’s my adaptation of her recipe:

• 2 C blanched almond flour
• 3 T coconut flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t cinnamon
• 3/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground ginger
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 3/4 C pumpkin puree
• 1/3 C pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 T coconut oil, melted
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 C ghiradelli chocolate chips
• 1/2 C chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. Sift together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, spice, and salt in a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the remaining wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix till smooth. Gently mix in the dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3-full. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Danielle Walker doesn’t mention anything about sifting the almond and coconut flour, but I have found it absolutely essential to creating a better muffin. Otherwise they seem to turn out a bit grainy. However, I’m getting ready to order a superfine almond flour (this one:Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour Super Fine Grind Gluten Free Cholesterol Free albs)* and I’ll see if it makes a sifter unnecessary.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These aren’t as pretty as non-paleo muffins, but they are moist and delicious. I serve them with a pat of grass-fed butter and a cup of hot spiced tea. Perfect for fall.

So, that’s our Saturday breakfast tradition. And it is our Sunday breakfast tradition, too – the recipes make enough that there are plenty of muffins to heat up before church on Sunday (and I put a tray of bacon into the oven to bake while we get ready, because baked bacon – that’s how I roll!). How about you? Do you have any favorite paleo muffin recipes? It will soon be winter, and when that happens, my boys will no longer expect pumpkin muffins every weekend. So I’m looking for some wintry ideas!

*affiliate links