Happy Labor Day! Also known as the start of fall. To me, at least. I know technically, fall doesn’t start for a couple more weeks, but this weekend is always the transition one for me. We soak up the last bits of summer and then start looking ahead to fall. Fall might be my favorite season. It’s just cozy and comforting. It always feels like a new beginning, I suppose because it’s back to school time. It feels like a time of reflection, too… something about all those changing colors, the transition from a time of growing to a time of harvest and storing away, nature preparing for a winter hibernation. Bring it on. And bring on ALL things pumpkin. We are serious pumpkin people here. My pantry is stocked with a minimum of two cans of pumpkin ALL year long. I am never, ever without pumpkin. And my kids must have peanut butter. Almost daily. We have peanut butter pumpkin overnight oatmeal jars at least once a week for breakfast, peanut or almond butter sandwiches once a week for lunch, peanut butter and banana “sandwiches” weekly for snack, and there’s usually raisin bread with peanut butter for breakfast one weekend morning. It’s a lot of peanut butter. And since we love peanut butter with our pumpkin, these muffins are a big hit at my house. They’re great for breakfast or lunch (and you can sub almond butter if you need it to be peanut-free for school, like we do) and they are a great after-school snack, too. Plus, they freeze beautifully, so you can store the extras away to have on hand. Never be without something pumpkin in the house! (See storage tips below.) You might also like these classic pumpkin muffins. Or check out all of my healthy muffin recipes. OK, let’s get cooking. I’ve got a few notes and tips coming up on how to make peanut butter pumpkin muffins. If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
Flour: I use white whole wheat flour, but you could easily substitute the same amount of all-purpose flour. Or use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. Peanut butter: Any brand will do, but I do recommend you use a creamy peanut butter for this recipe. I’ve made it with both a regular and a more natural peanut butter and both worked fine. You could also substitute almond butter or another nut butter if needed. Honey: Honey is my go-to sweetener, but you could substitute maple syrup or agave syrup if you’d rather. Chocolate chips: These are optional but add a fun flavor. You can use 1 cup of chocolate chips for the whole batch or you can split it, like I did. Spoon the plain batter into 6 muffin liners. Then mix in ½ cup of chocolate chips to the remaining batter in the bowl and pour that into the remaining 6 muffin liners to make a half-and-half batch.
You could also add some extra peanut butter on top of these muffins when you serve them as a “frosting” if you like. Or maybe some Nutella. Also, if you’d rather bake this as a bread instead of as muffins, you definitely can. Just pour the batter into a greased 9x5 bread pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Back to the muffins though… As mentioned, these store and freeze great. It’s so helpful to make a batch and then have some on hand to pull out for busy days. So let’s talk about what to do with the extras.
Storage Tips:
These muffins will keep, covered, at room temperature for 4-5 days. After that, you can move them to the refrigerator, where they will keep for another 2-3 days. You can also freeze the extras. Let the muffins cool completely. Place them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag (that’s labeled!) and freeze for up to 6 months. Tip: I like to wrap them individually in aluminum foil before putting them into the bag. It adds an extra layer of protection from freezer burn and ice accumulation.
I hope you will welcome fall with these peanut butter pumpkin muffins! Enjoy! XO, Kathryn Flour: I use white whole wheat flour, but you could easily substitute the same amount of all-purpose flour. Or use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. Peanut butter: Any brand will do, but I do recommend you use a creamy peanut butter for this recipe. I’ve made it with both a regular and a more natural peanut butter and both worked fine. You could also substitute almond butter or another nut butter if needed. Honey: Honey is my go-to sweetener, but you could substitute maple syrup or agave syrup if you’d rather. Chocolate chips: You can use 1 cup of chocolate chips for the whole batch or you can split it, like I did. I spooned the plain batter into six muffin liners. Then I mixed in ½ cup of chocolate chips to the remaining batter in the bowl and poured that into the remaining six muffin liners to make a half-and-half batch. Storage Tips:
These muffins will keep, covered, at room temperature for 4-5 days. After that, you can move them to the refrigerator, where they will keep for another 2-3 days.You can also freeze the extras. Let the muffins cool completely. Place them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag (that’s labeled!) and freeze for up to 6 months.Tip: I like to wrap them individually in aluminum foil before putting them into the bag. It adds an extra layer of protection from freezer burn and ice accumulation.
