Pumpkin spice muffins are tender and fluffy. The perfect amount of pumpkin flavor is brought to the next level with browned butter and a brown sugar pecan topping.
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
While I enjoy these year round, nothing quite says fall like pumpkin. Tender and flavorful pumpkin bread in muffin form. The best part - the brown sugar pecan crumb topping made with browned butter. These come together really easily, just follow the tips below.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Most of these quick bread ingredients are pretty straight forward, but there are a couple that you can switch out when you're in a pinch or if you need to make this gluten or dairy free.
- Butter - browned butter gives these muffins a nutty, caramel flavor that can't be beat. Need to make them dairy free? Head for the olive oil or coconut oil and skip step 1.
- Sour cream - Sour cream adds to the moisture and fluffiness of the muffins. Nut milk or dairy free yogurt are great dairy free options.
- Pumpkin pie spice - rounds out the fabulous and classic fall flavor of pumpkin we've all come to know and love. If you're out, substitute with ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon cloves.
- All-purpose flour - I use standard unbleached all-purpose flour. If you're using a gluten free option, make sure it's one that it's a "measure for measure" blend (meaning the measurements for standard all-purpose and gluten free will be an even exchange).
- Pecans - I love the extra crunch these add, but you can also use pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or no nuts at all.
Pumpkin Spice Muffin Ingredients
Streusel Topping Ingredients
The streusel or crumb topping is the best part of these muffins. A simple combination of nuts, flour, sugars and browned butter goes into this topping.
How to Brown Butter
While you can save some time and effort and skip this step of the recipe, and still have totally delicious muffins, don't! It will be 5 minutes that will pay off big time when you have way better than the usual pumpkin muffins.
In a small pot over medium-low heat, add all of the butter for the whole recipe (11 tablespoons). Melt the butter and then continue to cook over medium-low heat without letting it bubble too much, stirring occasionally. After about 5 minutes the milk solids will start to bubble and foam.
That's when you want to stir constantly. Pull the pot off the heat and keep stirring. The foam should calm down and the butter should be a golden brown that smells like caramel popcorn. Transfer the browned butter to a bowl to cool.
Pecan Streusel Topping
In a small bowl add ¼ of a cup each of all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Then 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ a teaspoon of salt. Last, grab a tablespoon and scoop out 5 tablespoons of that browned butter and add it to the topping mixture.
Give the mixture a quick stir with a fork until the butter has saturated all of the other ingredients. Set it aside for topping the muffins.
Quick Pumpkin Spice Batter
First you'll combine all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add the following and whisk together until just combined:
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Next you'll need a larger bowl to combine all of the wet ingredients. Use a spatula and stir these together:
- Remaining browned butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) (225 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream (60 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
When the wet ingredients are fully mixed together, pour in the wet ingredients and fold everything together without over-mixing.
Cooking Time and Temperature
Line a muffin pan with muffin liners or grease the pan with butter or olive oil spray. Use a batter scoop to fill the muffin tins ⅔ full with the batter. Next use a measuring spoon to scoop a heaping tablespoon onto each muffin.
Cook the pumpkin spice muffins in a 350˚ oven for 22-25 minutes. You'll know they're ready when you pierce them with a toothpick and it comes out with just a few crumbs.
Put the muffin tin on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before pulling the muffins out to finish cooling another 5 minutes. Serve them warm or cold.
Storage
Store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, in the fridge for up to 6. When you serve the leftovers, give them a quick zap in the microwave for best results. I heat mine on high heat for 15-20 seconds.
The muffins freeze well for up to 3 months in a freezer bag or container.
Other Baked Breakfast Recipes You'll Love
- Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies
- Banana Nut Crunch Muffins
- Maple Pecan Mini Scones
- Mini Cinnamon Sweet Potato Muffins
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Ingredients
STREUSEL TOPPING
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (30 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (50 grams)
- ⅓ cup diced pecans
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
MUFFINS
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) (225 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream (60 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- BROWN THE BUTTER: In a small skillet, melt all 11 tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Continue to simmer the butter until it turns a dark golden amber color and has a caramel fragrance. Pour the browned butter into a bowl or measuring cup and allow to cool.
- PREPARE: Preheat oven to 350° and arrange the oven rack to the center position. Line muffin tin with liners or spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- MAKE THE CINNAMON PECAN TOPPING: In a small bowl, add the ¼ cup flour, ¼ each brown and granulated sugars, cinnamon, pecans, and salt. Stir the brown butter, then scoop 5 tablespoons into the topping mixture. Use your fingers or a fork to work the mixture into small lumps. Set aside.
- COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together until it’s evenly mixed.
- COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the remaining butter, pumpkin, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, until well-combined. Pour the wet mixture in with the dry ingredients and fold together until all the flour is mixed in.
- BAKE: Using a batter scoop or large spoon, fill each muffin cup with about 3 tablespoons of bater, or ⅔ full. Top each muffin with a heaping tablespoon of the cinnamon pecan topping then bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center with only a few crumbs.
- COOL: Allow the muffins to cool about 3 minutes in the muffin tin, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
Notes
- Browning the butter takes an extra 5 minutes or so and adds a ton of flavor. If you don't have the time to do this step, the muffins will still be delicious, so it is optional. Instead just melt the butter.
Nutrition
RECIPE EQUIPMENT
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