INGREDIENTS:

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin purée
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup orange juice

Dry Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 cup bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/3 pumpkin seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Position a rack in the middle of oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13×9-inch pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, oil and orange juice together until smooth.

3. Sift together the flour mixture onto the wet ingredients then fold/stir together quickly and lightly until the flour is mostly incorporated. Add the (optional) chocolate chips and walnuts and with a few quick strokes fold them in. Stop mixing just as the flour is absorbed.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter the (optional) pumpkin seed evenly over the top.

5. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cutting board then reverse onto a rack to cool completely.

MAKES 12 MUFFINS