Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Happy Thanksgiving! In lieu of pumpkin pie, here is an even better treat - my mother's homemade pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. The pumpkin makes them incredibly moist, the chocolate chips make them a decadent treat, and the spices remind me of fall and the flavors of pumpkin pie. This recipe originally called for chopped nuts, but why use nuts or raisins when you can substitute chocolate chips? This recipe can also be doubled for a huge batch, or halved for a smaller batch. It works well as muffins, a loaf, or a cake. My mother always makes this recipe in the fall, especially around Halloween time. They get a nice orange color from the pumpkin purée, but they don't have a really strong pumpkin flavor, just like her chocolate zucchini loaf (here)doesn't have a strong zucchini flavor. Actually, you don't even taste the zucchini at all! I remember helping my mother make these muffins several years ago, and instead of adding chocolate chips to the batter, we placed the chocolate chips on top, arranged in the shape of faces, to make them look sort of like jack-o-lanterns to celebrate the Halloween season. I'm not sure why, buy my mother has always used miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe, and I think this way works the best!