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I’m always on the lookout for simple, lightened-up desserts that satisfy a sweet tooth without requiring a lot of time or effort. These 2-ingredient chocolate pumpkin muffins and cookies are a longtime Weight Watchers favorite for good reason. All you need is a box of chocolate cake mix and a can of pumpkin — no eggs, no oil, no fuss. The result? Moist, chocolatey treats that taste indulgent but are secretly lighter.
I first discovered this recipe years ago at a WW meeting when a member asked about the Points for these famous “pumpkin muffins.” Since then, I’ve tried them every which way — muffins, mini muffins, even cookies — and they always turn out delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Just 2 ingredients – baking doesn’t get any easier than this.
- Versatile – make muffins, mini muffins, or cookies from the same batter.
- Naturally lighter – no eggs or oil, just cake mix + pumpkin.
- WW friendly – a smart choice when you want a chocolate treat without overdoing it.
- Customizable – add chocolate chips, nuts, or spices to change things up.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chocolate cake mix – Any brand works. Devil’s food, dark chocolate, or even spice cake mix if you want a pumpkin-spice twist.
- Canned pumpkin puree – Not pumpkin pie filling. You can also use homemade pumpkin puree.
Optional Add-ins: mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
WW Points & Calories
The WW Points and calories depends on the size of the muffins or cookies you make. If you make 12 muffins each one will have
- Calories: 150
- WW Points: To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App! (You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
4 PointsPlus (Old plan)
(If you make 24 cookies or mini muffins each one will have 4 Points, If you make 36 cookies or mini muffins each one will have 3 Points.)
Step by Step Instructions for Muffins & Cookies
Step 1: Prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins or cookie sheets with paper liners or parchment.
Step 2: Mix
In a large bowl, stir together the dry cake mix and canned pumpkin until fully blended. The batter will be thick.
Step 3: Portion
- For muffins: scoop batter into muffin tins.
- For mini muffins: use mini muffin tins.
- For cookies: drop spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (affiliate link).
Step 4: Bake
- Muffins: 18–20 minutes
- Mini muffins or cookies: 10–12 minutes
- Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Recipe Notes & Variations
- Hungry Girl calls these “Yum Yum Brownie Muffins,” a fun twist on the same 2-ingredient idea.
- Try different cake mixes – spice cake, yellow cake, or even red velvet.
- Stir in a handful of mini chocolate chips or chopped walnuts for extra texture and flavor.
- Use a mini muffin tin for bite-sized treats perfect for portion control.
Storing & Leftovers
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days for maximum freshness.
- Freeze muffins or cookies in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temp or microwave (affiliate link) briefly to warm.
If you like these easy, 2-ingredient pumpkin chocolate muffins/cookies, be sure to check out my other Weight Watchers friendly sweets recipes including: No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies, WW 2-Ingredient Pineapple Angel Food Cake, Baked Pumpkin Donuts, WW Classic 3-2-1 Microwave Mug Cake and Salted Peanut Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’ve made these 2-Ingredient Muffins and Cookies, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
WW 2-Ingredient Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins & Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) chocolate cake mix
- 2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins or 36 cookies.
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.
- For muffins, preheat the oven to 400F degrees and line 12 muffin cups or 36 mini muffin cups with paper liners or coat them with non-stick spray.
- For cookies, preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or coat with non-stick spray.
- Make the batter in a large bowl by mixing just the two ingredients together, ignoring the instructions on the cake mix. This will take some effort and the mixture will be very very thick!
- Stir in the mini semisweet chocolate chips, if using.
- For muffins, place batter into the prepared (or mini muffin) tins. Bake at 400F degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes for muffins and 12 minutes for the mini-muffins.
- For cookies, drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 9 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the centers are just barely set when lightly touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets and then transfer the cookies/muffins with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
WW Points & Calories
The WW Points and calories depends on the size of the muffins or cookies you make. If you make 12 muffins each one will have- Calories: 150
- WW Points: To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App! (You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
4 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More WW-Friendly Pumpkin Desserts
If you liked these easy 2-ingredient chocolate pumpkin cake mix cookies you’ll love:
- These low calorie Air Fryer Chocolate Cake Mix cookies that also can be baked in a toaster oven. Each cookies has just 2 WW Points!
- Weight Watchers Easy No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake – a creamy, light dessert that’s always a hit.
- Easy Healthy Low Fat Pumpkin Cake Recipes – simple, lighter cakes perfect for fall.
- Healthy Low Fat Pumpkin Cookie Recipes – cookies full of pumpkin flavor.
- Pumpkin Spice Cake Mix Muffins – another easy cake mix and pumpkin combo.
I make these all the time with pumpkin for years..they r fantastic..I have millions of bananas…I wonder if these can be made with bananas as well…What do u think?
Hi Tanya, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure but I don’t see why not. If you do experiment please let us know how it turns out.
I was wondering could I just make it a cake instead of muffins
I haven’t tried to make it a cake so I can’t say for sure. Please let us know if you try it!!
What are these in Smartpoints?
Hi Liz,
I haven’t determined the SP for this recipe but most sweet treats have doubled in Points so I’ve been using that as a rough guide.
1/12 of a package of devil’s food cake mix is 7 points. so one regular sized
muffin would be about 7 points and 3 cookies is probably about 7 points.
The lady in our group said the mini muffins were 2 points and most of us
are on Smart Points but now I’m not so sure 2 would be right. I would think
at least double.
Once I made them, I froze them, 6 months later, they are the best things I’ve ever ate.
Thanks for letting us know!!
the nutritional information on here can’t be correct, if you get 36 mini muffins or 36 cookies out of the mix how can the nutritional information be different? 1 cookie should have 1/3 the value of the muffins?
How can
3 mini muffins = 3.5g fat 5 points
1 cookie = 2.3 g fat and 2 points?
1 cookie should have 1/3 the value of the muffins?
Nutritional Estimates Per Serving Muffins: (1 muffin or 3 mini muffins): 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g protein and 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus;
Nutritional Estimates Cookies (1 cookie): 66 calories, 2.3 g fat, 11.4 g carbs, 0.7 g fiber, 1.0 g protein and 2 WW PointsPlus
Hi Linda, thanks for pointing this out! I’ve corrected it.
I don’t think Hungry Girl was the originator of that recipe. It’s been around since at least 2006, when I was using it, and I add a tablespoon of skim milk, creating some smoothness to the batter, no matter what Hungry Girl says. I also have a great fat-free (and sugar free, if you choose) chocolate mousse recipe.
Thanks CS!
I am wondering if I could use sugar free cake mix? Or even sugar free brownie mix? As a diabetic, the number of carbs are important to me.
HI Fran, I haven’t tried sugar free mixes, but think a sugar free cake mix would work fine. I think the texture would be much more dense with brownie mix – more like a fudgy brownie or fudge! Hope this helps!!
Hi, I am not getting 5 points out of this recipe. I am only getting 2 points per cupcake. I am not adding the chocolate chips. Could that be the difference?
Hi Lisa, I recalculated and I still get 5 Points Plus with and 18.25 ounce size cake mix and the chocolate chips. I’d say to subtract 1 for the chocolate chips which would bring it to 4PP. Also cake mixes have gotten smaller, so if you are using a 15 ounce cake mix without chocolate chips that would be between 3 and 4. Not sure how you got 2. Are you using new or old points? Counting the pumpkin? Hope this helps.
These are in the oven as I type! Made them using a butter pecan cake mix, I hope they turn out!
Hi Cheryl, I think the butter pecan cake mix sounds yummy, especially with the addition of extra spice such as cinnamon, ginger and/or nutmeg if you like that kind of thing. I love them with chocolate, but now I’m thinking it’s time to widen my horizons! I’ve been thinking about using a spice or carrot cake mix too. Hope they turn out for you.
Made with carrot cake and used pears and spices. Yummm
Hi Soozle, Love the combination of carrot cake, pears and spices! Thanks for sharing.
I was doing a closing at a clients house and she was making these. Granted it was delicious and I don’t like chocolate but is it very dietetic? I’m just wondering usually things that taste good aren’t labeled “diet”. Can they be altered to be better for you than using a cake mix or is the cake mix just for the simplicity?
Hi Kristi,
The cake mix is for simplicity and using a can of pumpkin instead of oil and eggs cuts down on fat while boosting fiber and vitamins. Some people use spice cake mix instead of chocolate! I’m not a huge fan of the whole “dietetic” food thing. I’m a food lover and WW Lifetime member who loves to eat and cook who is always experimenting with recipes. Of course, there are lots of recipes around for healthier pumpkin muffins that don’t use cake mix. I’ve got lots of healthier muffin recipes here on my site. Hope this helps.