Chocolate-Chip Pumpkin Protein Muffins

Hello! It is finally starting to feel like fall around here, even though it’s all just moving a little too quickly for me. On Friday, my best friend and I went to Starved Rock, a state park in Illinois, and I decided to bake some muffins for some protein-packed fuel. One of my favorite ways to bake muffins is to just use the same kind of mix you’d use for protein pancakes–there are a lot of different ways to customize, and this one was a hit. The muffins were moist and slightly sweet, packed with chocolate and a hint of cinnamon.

To make these, I used:

• 2 cups of protein pancake mix (I used the Kodiak Cakes pumpkin flax)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (this does not take away from the pumpkin flavor!)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup almond milk

Yields: 12 muffins, around 120 calories per muffin

If you do not want to use a mix, you could use regular protein powder, canned pumpkin, and almond or coconut flour!

I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees, and then I mixed all of the ingredients into a bowl, gently folding in the chocolate chips.

I greased the muffin tins with melted coconut oil. I find this to be a much better method than using the coconut oil spray, because the muffins popped out more easily.

I baked the muffins for exactly 20 minutes, but I also used a toothpick to make sure they were baked evenly. When I pulled them out, they were golden-brown and had risen up well.

I gave them a few minutes to cool down, but I love eating them while they are still warm and the chocolate is melted. Both my friend and my husband loved these, and I will definitely be making them again. While I am not a fun of coffee or pumpkin-spice lattes, I do enjoy in in just about everything else, including savory dishes! I think I’ll be bringing a pumpkin soup here next. Enjoy!