Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

You're probably thinking that it's a strange time of the year to be making pumpkin muffins. I had a can of pumkin left over from the holidays and I'm finally getting around to using it. I love the combination of pumpkin and chocolate.

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
Makes about 20 large muffins

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
2/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1 and 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
cooking spray
2 tablespoons coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs and pumpkin. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Grease two 12 cup muffin tins with cooking spray. Fill 20 of the cups about 3/4 full. Put a little water into the empty muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in pans for about 7 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.