Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

During pumpkin season, I always seem to have tupperware containers full of pumpkin puree lurking in my fridge. It's rare that a recipe calls for a whole can so most days I stare at the leftovers and try to determine the best way to use up the remaining pumpkin. Usually it ends up being swirled into morning yogurt, oats, or smoothies but sometimes I get more ambitious and decide to do some baking. And today's yummy pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip muffins were the result.

The base of the recipe is essentially the same as any baked oatmeal recipe, the only difference being that it is cooked into adorable, portable muffins instead for grab and go convenience. The pumpkin in the recipe guarantees the muffins are moist and I couldn't help but add some chocolate chips since pumpkin and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. To stick to fall flavors, I opted to use maple syrup as the sweetener as well as pumpkin pie spice to add some notes of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You could substitute nuts for the chocolate, add in some chia or flax seeds, or if you aren't a huge pumpkin fan you could opt for mashed bananas or squash.