Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
TASTE: I just adore that molasses-y sweetness from the dark brown sugar and all the warm pumpkin spices.
TEXTURE: Crisp on top thanks to the streusel. The muffin itself is super moist, fluffy, and light.
EASE: SO easy! These take no time at all.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: A simple and cozy way to infuse your home with the joy of autumn.
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You can practically make these muffins in your sleep they’re so quick and easy. No mixer required and they can be on your counter in under 1 hour.
Plus, they freeze and thaw beautifully, so they’re a great make-ahead option for breakfast, brunch, or even just afternoon snacking.
During the final weeks of summer, I count down the days until it’s socially acceptable to bake with pumpkin.
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The aroma of these muffins while baking is divine. Don’t even get me started on nutty, buttery, sugary streusel crunch on top. Everything about these muffins is pure autumnal bliss.
I couldn’t resist adding a pecan-studded streusel to the tops of these muffins for a little spiced crunch. Everything in the world can be made better with streusel.
During the testing process, some of friends and family tasted these pumpkin muffins. I knew I’d nailed the recipe when Dominic, aged 10, exclaimed, “This is the best muffin I’ve ever had! I never want this muffin to end, but I have to put it in my mouth.”
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
How to Make MOIST Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin puree brings SO much moisture to muffins, but here are a few additional tips for ensuring you don’t end up with dry muffins:
- Do not over-measure the flour. I like to use a digital kitchen scale, but if you don’t have one, use the spoon-and-level method. Learn more about the importance of measuring flour correctly here.
- Oil: Vegetable (or avocado) oil is liquid at room temperature, even when refrigerated, so it gives the palate a sensation of moisture when you bite. Since the pumpkin + spices are so flavorful, we don’t need to waste expensive butter in the batter.
- Other ingredients: Dark brown sugar and buttermilk also bring even more moisture to these muffins (as well as a ton of flavor!). More on those ingredients just below.
Do I Have to Use Dark Brown Sugar?
Dark brown sugar brings depth of flavor, moisture, and richness to these Pumpkin Muffins. However, you can use light brown instead (1:1 ratio) instead. Note that your muffins will be lighter in color, slightly less rich in flavor, but the pumpkin puree flavor will be more noticeable.
Do I Have to Use Buttermilk in Pumpkin Muffins?
- Myself and my recipe testers tried this Pumpkin Muffin recipe using whole milk in place of the buttermilk. While the milk version was still good, it was missing the delightful tang of the buttermilk, which rounds out the flavors so perfectly.
- If you’re unable to find real buttermilk, you can use whole milk in its place (1:1 ratio) but note that your resulting muffins won’t be quite as flavorful, and the pumpkin puree flavor will be more predominant.
- I don’t recommend using a milk + vinegar/lemon juice buttermilk substitute or skim milk. Learn more about the science of buttermilk, and buttermilk substitutes, here.
The Best Type of Pumpkin for Muffins
- Be sure to use canned pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- Fresh pureed pumpkin could work too, but I haven’t tested this specifically. If I were to use it, I would dab up excess moisture with a paper towel before using.
- Check out my Fresh vs. Canned Pumpkin article for the differences between using fresh pumpkin puree, regular canned pumpkin, and organic canned pumpkin.
The Spices in Pumpkin Muffins
- Feel free to adjust the spices a little if you prefer less spice.
- Check your spices to ensure they’re not expired. If they are expired, toss them and purchase new ones – otherwise, your muffins may be bland.
Can I Add Chocolate Chips?
I actually have a recipe for that! Check out my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe here. Feel free to add this streusel to the tops of those muffins, if preferred.
How to Avoid Dense Pumpkin Muffins
Avoid overmixing! This will create dense, rubbery muffins. Ensure you mix the wet and dry ingredients gently until just combined. Also, as mentioned above, be sure to measure your flour correctly.
How to Bake TALL Pumpkin Muffins
This recipe uses a generous amount of baking powder in the batter and a generous amount of batter in each muffin tin cavity, for beautifully tall Pumpkin Muffins. Check out more of my my tips for baking tall muffins here. If you’re baking at high altitude, you may need to reduce the amount of baking powder.
How to Prevent Liners from Sticking to the Muffins
- Some brands of liners tend to stick more than others, so use a high-quality liner.
- This is my favorite brand of muffin/cupcake liners.
- If this is a common issue for you, check out my article on How to Prevent Muffin/Cupcake Liners from Sticking here.
How to Store Pumpkin Muffins
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for about 15 seconds, or in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes, or until heated through. Just note that the streusel will stay softer after the first day, even if refreshing in the oven.
Can You Freeze Pumpkin Muffins?
Yes, Pumpkin Muffins freeze beautifully! Freeze inside an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for an hour or so. Refresh in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes, or until heated through, if desired.
More Fall Baking You’ll Love:
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake
- Pumpkin Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting
- Caramel Apple Streusel Pie
Pumpkin Muffins
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Ingredients
For the streusel:
- 3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar, preferably dark brown
- 3 tablespoons (24 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) pecans, finely chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the muffins:
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) dark brown sugar*
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup (178 grams) buttermilk*, at room temperature
- ½ cup (98 grams) neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (244 grams) pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
Make the streusel:
- In a small bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients with a rubber spatula or a fork until combined. Set aside.
Make the muffins:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be thick.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cavities, filling each to the brim of the pan.
- Staying away from the edges, place streusel mixture evenly over the center of the muffin batter in each cavity. Press lightly into the batter.
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 22 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Let cool before serving.
- Once completely cooled, store Pumpkin Muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Note that the streusel will soften more the longer it sits, but the pumpkin spice flavor will intensify.
Recipe Notes
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I apologize for asking this, but if I were to use the double-acting baking powder, and rest the batter overnight, I would not have to adjust anything in the recipe or the baking time, correct? Your pumpkin spice coffee cake has been a huge hit here since you posted it, so I would like to try these, but enjoy a nice, tall muffin.
I appreciate your advice!
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! I would just hold off on adding the streusel topping until before baking so it doesn’t absorb into the batter. I’m so glad you like the coffee cake!
Thank you very much!
Hello,
Can this recipe be made with gluten free flour?
Thank you,
Anna
We haven’t tested that, but muffins are generally forgiving so I think it would work!
Hello, I love Tessa’s recipes and was specifically looking for a pumpkin loaf recipe. Can I use this one and bake in a loaf pan?
Hi Kim! We haven’t tried that, so we can’t say for sure! Feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes 🙂
Made them without the topping to cut sugar. They aren’t too sweet, have nice texture, are moist and rose nicely. Great flavor. My new favorite.
I added about a cup of chopped walnuts. Yum!
The muffins turned out great. I used pumpkin puree that I made from a pie pumpkin. I also made large muffins, using a large 6 muffin non-stick baking tin. I simply buttered the muffin tin before placing directly into the muffin tin. I found that it took 8 more minutes to bake the muffins, for a total of 30 minutes. I recommend that you allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, before using a table knife to easily pop them out of the muffin tin and placing them on a wire baking rack to cool completely before eating them.
One other item to note. I only used a pinch of ground clove, instead of the amount called for in the recipe.
I made these with full fat plain Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk, and they had a DELIGHTFUL tangy flavor. I also added salt to the streusel. YUMMMM!
These come out very moist and bouncy. I would say they are not as sweet as I was expecting, which is nice for a morning muffin. Clove flavor really comes through over most of the other spices, so might reduce slightly in the future to 1/4 tsp. Would definitely make again.
Should they be cooled in the muffin tin or does it matter? If they’re cooled in the tin, will carry-over cooking occur and cause them to be over-baked? Thank you!
Hi April! Either way should be fine. While we were testing these muffins, I left mine inside the pan to cool completely and the carryover heat didn’t overbake them. Feel free to remove to a wire rack about 5 minutes after removing from the oven, if you prefer, though. Let us know what you think of these muffins once you have given them a try! 🙂
These are the best Pumpkin Muffins I’ve ever had. I had to freeze them to keep from binging on them. And they really do freeze well. I pop them in the microwave for a minute or so and they taste like they just came out of the oven. Two thumbs up.
Sweet Regards,
Linda Butler
Delicious!! The best
These are the best muffins I have ever had!! We will be having them often!! I was hoping that the topping wouldn’t keep them from rising, but the opposite was the case. They were higher than any I have ever baked.
The flavour was superb!
Isn’t the topping fantastic?! So happy you loved this recipe, Carol 🙂
can these be made in the larger muffin cups? Time and temp? Thanks, Donna
Hi Donna! Sorry, we haven’t tried that. Let us know how it goes if you give that a try 🙂