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Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Streusel
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With warm spices and a crunchy pecan streusel, these pumpkin muffins are the quintessential fall breakfast treat.
Of all the baking recipes I’ve shared on this site over the years, my mom’s pumpkin bread remains the most popular. Since it’s also one of my most-requested at home, I thought I’d reinvent the recipe as muffins this year. Just like the loaves, these pumpkin muffins are tender, cake-like, and generously spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. The crunchy pecan streusel takes the muffins up a notch but it’s optional; if you’d like to omit the topping, simply increase the sugar in the recipe by 1/4 cup.
What you’ll need to make Pumpkin Muffins
When purchasing ingredients for the recipe, be careful when selecting the canned pumpkin. You need 100% pure pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling (they typically sit side-by-side on the grocery store shelf). Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and flavored with spices and would not work well in the muffins.
If you live in an area where canned pumpkin is not available (or you’d just prefer to use fresh), making your own pumpkin purée is actually quite easy. This tutorial from King Arthur Flour gives you step-by-step guidance on how to get from a whole pumpkin to fresh purée.
How to make Pumpkin Muffins
Begin with the streusel topping: Combine the flour, butter, demerara sugar, chopped pecans and cinnamon in a small bowl.
The mixture will be quite wet. Set aside. (Note: If you want to plan ahead a bit, the streusel topping can be made up three days ahead of time and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready for use.)
Move on to the muffins: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Whisk well and 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 at medium speed until very light and fluffy, a few minutes.
Add the pumpkin.
Beat until combined, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary.
Add the flour mixture.
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 full.
Using your fingers, divide the topping evenly over the muffin 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.
How To Freeze Pumpkin Muffins
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.
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- Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Pumpkin Glaze
- Oat Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping
Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Streusel
With warm spices and a crunchy pecan streusel, these pumpkin muffins are the quintessential fall breakfast treat.
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
- 1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin (I use Libby’s)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. 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.
- Note: 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 – 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
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- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 416
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Carbohydrates: 51 g
- Sugar: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 235 mg
- Cholesterol: 74 mg
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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These pumpkin muffins are so delicious. My husband doesn’t like pumpkin and even he couldn’t deny that the streusel topping makes these muffins extra special good. They looked like bakery muffins too. I didn’t have pecans so I substituted walnuts.
I make it every single year it’s amazing!! I even brought it to my boyfriends family for thanksgiving and they absolutely loved it!
I made these as an indulgent breakfast treat and they were so delicious! They have great flavor and are moist without being dense or oily. They were still good 3 days later and the ones that I froze were also excellent after being defrosted. An absolute winner of a recipe – you can bet I will be making these at Thanksgiving!
made these last evening…very good! i did not add a streusel. the muffins were ‘cakelike’ moist & light..i used 1/4C coconut oil instead of 1/4C butter. think a creme frosting would also be good. love your oatmeal pecan cookies a lot too!
thank you..
Great recipe! I used coconut sugar and half the nutmeg required. I added 1/2 cardamom. The changes elevated the muffin to a whole new flavour dimension.
Made these today. Just took them out of oven and they smell and look amazing. I couldn’t wait to try them so I only waited 8 mins to take one out of the pan. They taste even better than they smell, will definitely keep this recipe for future!!!
Absolutely delicious!!! The only change I made was using dark brown sugar instead of the raw sugar. My muffins look exactly like the photo!! Yum!!!
Baked them tonight. While hot very pumpkin flavor. Cut back on sugar and added cream cheese filling in center.