Pumpkin Cookie Dough Muffins

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Sometimes, we need a shortcut. Being a mom of 2 under 3, shortcuts have become my way of life. But trust me, shortcuts don’t have to be a guilty thing – they can be incredibly delicious.

These Pumpkin Cookie Dough Muffins are the perfect fall treat. Delicious and packed with the flavor of the season – Libby’s pumpkin, naturally – they are bound to please everyone they meet. But they aren’t your average, run of the mill pumpkin muffin. Nope, these are topped with gooey cookie dough, packed with NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, and drizzled with the perfect vanilla pumpkin spice glaze.

Do I have your attention? Okay, now I’m going to make it even better for you – you’re going to be using refrigerated cookie dough.

Yup, I went there. Grab a package of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Pumpkin Spice Refrigerated Cookie Dough, break apart and freeze solid before slicing them in half and tucking them into the top of your cookie dough. They’ll stay gooey and delicious during cooking with the perfect crispy cookie top that will make you go in for a second (or third, no shame!) Oh, and the leftover cookies? Yeah, bake those up too and share them with your family – I know I can’t be the only one who’s love language is baking, and these are the perfect fall expression of love.

I used a homemade (see below) recipe for the muffins, but I definitely wish I had thought to grab the Libby’s® Pumpkin Bread Kit and turned it into muffins. It’s the perfect way to make a homemade treat that’s sure to WOW people without the work. Shhh, I won’t tell anyone – us busy mommas need to stick together, right? This recipe (with or without the Bread Kit) is the perfect solution to busy, on-the-go moms who want to treat their family to a fun fall food but might not have to time to slave in the kitchen.

The glaze comes together with little work by combining powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk – a pantry staple that adds crazy creaminess and richness – drizzled or dunked, it’s the perfect topping, and would be a fun step for younger kiddos to do to get involved. That is, unless you’re like me and pretty confident it would just end in a toddler covered in sugar glaze.. ha!

And I know you don’t have time to stop a million different places – which is why you can easily head over to your local Walmart for all of your ingredients. I love that I can grab a gallon of milk, baking essentials, and some cute shirts for Ryan all in the same trip. And be sure to check if your Walmart offers Walmart Grocery Pickup – right now they have a $ 10 refer-a-friend program, which is a total win-win if you ask me.

Pumpkin Cookie Dough Muffins

3 cups flour
1 15 oz can Libby’s Pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1.5 cups sugar
1 TBS vanilla
2 TBS pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs
.5 cup of oil (I used canola)
.5 cup of orange juice
1 tsp salt
(optional) 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick baking spray.

Combine salt, flour, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

In a different bowl , combine eggs, oil, sugar, pumpkin, orange juice, and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined – do not over stir! You want to see no dry spots, but lumps are fine. If adding chocolate chips, add when about half of the way combined and fold into batter.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full and top with 1/2 of a cookie dough square. If you want the dough in the center, feel free to do half batter, cookie dough, other half of the batter or press the cookie dough in, but I will note that the crispy cookie top is pretty amazing.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the toothpick stuck into the muffin – NOT the cookie dough – comes out clean.

FOR GLAZE:

Stir together 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup Carnation Evaporated milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Drizzle on top of cooled muffins.

Enjoy! I got about 2 dozen muffins out of it, but if you use jumbo muffins (definitely use a whole cookie for those) you’d probably only get 10 or 12.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, be sure to check out the Nestle Flavorful Moments Pinterest page!

Okay, so tell me – do you take shortcuts in the kitchen? Are you a pumpkin fiend? What’s your love language? Let me know in the comments!