Pumpkin Muffins
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These truly are the best pumpkin muffins—moist, fluffy, and full of warm spice, with a buttery cinnamon-pecan streusel that takes them over the top.
Of all the baking recipes I’ve shared over the years, my grandmother’s pumpkin bread remains the most popular. First published in the 1963 edition of McCall’s Cook Book, the recipe has truly stood the test of time. Like most sweet quick breads, it’s easily transformed into muffins.
For this pumpkin muffin recipe, I use nearly the same batter—which, by the way, is so delicious there’s always a scramble over who gets to lick the bowl and beaters—then spoon it into a muffin tin and top each with a cinnamon-pecan streusel for irresistible crunch. Even my kids, who claim I “ruin everything with nuts,” can’t resist the topping.
“These are the best muffins I have ever made! Thank you so much for this recipe. We host a family reunion every October and these will be on the breakfast menu!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Muffins
- All-Purpose Flour – The backbone of the muffins and the streusel. Be sure to measure it right: spoon it into the cup, then level it off (scooping packs it down and can make your muffins dense).
- Butter – Adds richness to the batter and binds the streusel together so it bakes up crumbly and crisp.
- Sugars (Granulated + Demerara) – Granulated sugar sweetens the batter and helps keep the muffins moist, while demerara sugar (also called turbinado or raw cane sugar) goes in the streusel for a subtle caramel crunch.
- Chopped Pecans – Toasty, nutty, and crunchy, they make the streusel topping irresistible. Feel free to substitute walnuts or simply leave them out if you’re not a nut person.
- Leaveners (Baking Powder + Baking Soda) – These work together to give the muffins their lift and light texture.
- Spices (Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves) – Classic pumpkin pie spices that bring cozy warmth to every bite.
- Eggs – Add richness and bind everything together.
- Canned Pumpkin Purée – Adds moisture and pumpkin flavor. Use 100% pure pumpkin, not pie filling. I love Libby’s, but if you’d like to make your own, look for 4- to 8-pound sugar (aka cooking or pie) pumpkins. For step-by-step instructions, see this guide from King Arthur Flour.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, butter, demerara sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. It should look a little wet and clumpy—that’s exactly right. Set it aside. Tip: You can make the streusel up to three days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg until everything’s well combined. Set aside.
Step 3: Beat the butter and sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at low speed until just blended.
Step 4: Mix in the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating at medium speed until very light and fluffy, a few minutes.
Step 5: Add the pumpkin. Beat until it’s evenly combined, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary.
Step 6: Mix wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until just combined.
Step 7: Load up the muffin pan. Use an ice cream scoop or two spoons to fill the muffin cups right to the top. Then, with your fingers, sprinkle the streusel evenly over each one.
Step 8: Bake and cool. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The muffins are best enjoyed the day they’re baked, but they’ll stay fresh for several days in an airtight container at room temperature. They also freeze beautifully—just tuck them into a sealed container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Video Tutorial
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Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 5 tablespoons demerara sugar (also called raw cane sugar or turbinado)
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
For the Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 15-ounce (425-g) can 100% pure pumpkin (I use Libby’s)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a standard muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Begin with the topping: Combine the flour, butter, demerara sugar, chopped pecans and cinnamon in a small bowl. The mixture will be quite wet. Set aside.
- Move on to the muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at low speed until just blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; continue beating until very light and fluffy, a few minutes. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup completely full. Using your fingers, divide the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely.
Notes
- This recipe makes 12 large muffins. For smaller muffins, divide the batter into 18 muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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In this recipe, the batter tasted so good! The finished muffin with the pecan streusel was delicious! I will be making these more often! We all loved them!
I have been baking for over 50 years and this is the best muffin recipe I’ve ever used. The muffins are light, moist and flavorful. I slightly reduced the butter for the streusel and used puree from a fresh pumpkin. For the oven, I used only bottom heat and the oven fan.
Hi! What is the best way to store these (fridge vs counter) and how long will they last? Thanks!
Hi Natalie, They keep well for several days covered at room temperature.
Excellent recipe. The muffins are not wet and dense like so many pumpkin muffins recipes. The topping is a nice addition. I followed the recipe as written and my son loved them. I’ve retired my other pumpkin muffin recipes.
Hi Jen! Is this an altered rendition of your Pumpkin Pecan Crunch Muffins? I printed that recipe long ago & it’s yummy, although because of the delicious crunchy top mushrooming out at the top of the muffin, I’ve had a consistently difficult time removing the muffins from the pan without breaking them. (Yes, I have greased the top surface of the muffin tin.) Is there a special technique to get beautiful unbroken muffins like in your photo?
All the ingredients seem the same in both recipes, except for the topping, which has different amounts, & the baking time, which also differs slightly. Is this updated version supposed to be an improvement? Which recipe should I follow?
Thank you for being such an inspiration & for all your help!
Hi Toni, Sorry to hear you’ve had a problem removing the muffins from the pan! I do twist them a little before pulling them out to release them from the top of the pan. Is your muffin tin non-stick or if it is, is it very old? If so, it may be time for a new one.
And, from time to time (based on feedback from readers), I slightly tweak recipes, so I’d use the newer version. Hope that helps!
Great recipe! Had to make some changes when I found that I had fed all but 1/2 C white sugar to the hummingbirds! So, I used the 1/2C white, added 1/2C brown sugar. Then I added 1/2C dried sour cherries at the end. I threw in some chia seeds which changed nothing, really. All the rest went as planned and they came out great! Looking forward to playing around some more to see what else might work well. They came out plenty sweet with only the 1C total sugar. I live at 6500′ elevation so added 2 Tbs. flour for high altitude baking. They fluffed right up and stayed there.
Can you use fresh roasted pumpkin instead of canned or will the pumpkin flavor be less strong?
You can definitely use fresh roasted pumpkin — just be sure to squeeze out any excess liquid before incorporating it into the recipe. Enjoy!
These turned out perfect! I made 18 muffins and took them out at 30 minutes.
If I want to leave off streusel topping, add 1/2 mini chocolate chips to batter and bake them in a mini muffin pan to make them school lunch friendly, how would I adjust the bake time? Thanks!
Hi, Glad you liked these! I’d start checking minis at about 13 minutes. 🙂
I don’t even like pumpkin spice anything, but I LOVE these muffins! As soon as it starts getting a little brisk, I get requests from friends and neighbors to make them. Absolutely perfect!
I have some leftover pumpkin purée so I am thinking of making these since they have so many fantastic reviews. I would like to try making them for my diabetic dad and father-in-law using monk fruit sugar substitute (half with erythritol and half with allulose). Have you had any experience with using sugar replacements? Thank you.
Hi Kristi, I wish I could help but I’ve never worked with sugar substitutes so I can’t say how it would impact these. (If it helps at all, I have read plenty of comments from readers who have said they’ve replaced some or all of the sugar in a recipe with a substitute like Stevia and have had good results.) Hope that helps at least a bit!
Thank you for your quick response! I read a lot of the reviews, but I guess I somehow missed those about sugar replacements (that will teach me for getting all judgmental of others when I’ve read a question that someone asks and thought “she already answered that- don’t you read? 😂). I think I will try it anyway. It is either going to be great or it won’t- either way I have used up the container of pumpkin taking up space in my fridge. 😁
😂 Hope you enjoy if you make them!
BEST MUFFINS EVER!!!!!!