Pumpkin Spice Muffins are so flavorful, have a tender texture, and are so moist! Topped with crunchy pumpkin spice crumbs, these pumpkin muffins are not only quick and easy to whip up but also so delicious and loaded with pumpkin flavor. A perfect fall recipe!
Pumpkin Spice Muffins are super easy to make from scratch. They bake up with high tops just like those fancy muffins from your favorite bakery or coffee shop and will fill your home with cozy fall aromas.
They not only smell amazing they also taste amazing and the flavorful streusel on top makes them even more delicious. An easy pumpkin muffin recipe that tastes delicious for breakfast, brunch, or as a snack!
Looking for more muffin recipes? Check out my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, Cranberry Orange Muffins, and Banana Nut Muffins.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- You don’t even need a mixer for this quick recipe
- Easy recipe with simple ingredients
- Bakery-style muffins with high tops
- Muffins stay moist and fresh for several days
Ingredients
- Flour: This forms the base of the crumb topping. You can substitute it with whole wheat flour for a slightly nuttier flavor.
- Pumpkin pie spice: This adds a warm, autumnal flavor to the topping. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your blend by combining ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground allspice.
- Butter: The melted butter binds the crumb topping. Use unsalted butter.
- Baking powder: This leavening agent helps the muffins rise. Ensure it’s fresh for the best results.
- Canned pumpkin puree: This is the star ingredient. You can use homemade pumpkin puree if you have it. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling.
- Large eggs: Provide structure and moisture to the muffins. You can use flax eggs or applesauce as egg substitutes for a vegan option.
- Buttermilk: This contributes to the muffins’ tenderness. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and letting it sit for a few minutes until it thickens.
Expert Tips
- Use muffin liners: I prefer to use muffin liners for this recipe! The muffins will come easier out of the pan and are easier to store. These muffins are super moist so they are more likely to stick to the pan when you don’t use liners.
- Don’t over-mix the batter: This is important for every muffin recipe. To ensure that your muffins are light and fluffy mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just barely combined, and no more dry flour is visible.
- Spices: Instead of using prepared pumpkin pie spice, you can easily make your own spice mix at home. It’s cheaper and adds more flavor. Just combine 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon ground allspice.
- Cooling: Don’t let the muffins cool down in the muffin tin! The hot muffin tin will continue to bake the muffins and you might end up with drier muffins. Give the muffins a couple of minutes to cool off, then remove them from the pan and transfer them to a cooling rack.
The pumpkin pie spiced crumb topping makes these muffins even more delicious! I prepare it before I start with the muffin batter even so it gets added last because the muffin batter shouldn’t sit too long after mixing it.
The baking powder starts doing its magic when it gets wet so you better work quickly if you want fluffy and tender muffins. Adding a little bit of pumpkin spice to the crumbs makes these muffins extra flavorful!
Recipe FAQ
This recipe makes exactly 12 muffins. Many muffin recipes make more but almost never enough for two whole pans. That means you always have to fill the empty cups with water to get evenly baked muffins. I hate that and that’s why I always try to have enough batter for 12 muffins.
For this recipe, I fill all my muffin cups to the rim. A ⅓ measuring cup works best for dividing the batter between the cups. Spray it with a little bit of oil spray and the batter will easily slide out of the cup. Filling the muffin cups to the rim produces beautiful bakery-style muffins.
Did you know that you can easily convert muffin recipes to loaf recipes? To convert a muffin recipe, set the rack in the middle position instead of the lower position and decrease the oven temperature by 50 degrees if the muffin recipe uses a really high temperature. Bake the loaf until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean or only with a few moist crumbs attached, 50 to 65 minutes. If the muffin recipe has a sugary topping like streusel the quick bread should be tented with aluminum foil during the last 20 minutes to prevent it from getting too dark.
Storage and Freezing
These muffins keep moist and fresh for several days. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
You can freeze these muffins. Allow them to cool completely then put them in an airtight freezer bag and freeze for up to three months. Let the muffins sit at room temperature for a few hours to thaw or use the microwave.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Rum Glaze and Pecans
Tools used for Making this recipe
Muffin Pan: I love this muffin pan! It comes with a lid so it’s easy to transport baked muffins or cupcakes and it’s super easy to clean, everything slides right off.
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 Pinch salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
For the Pumpkin Muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (180°C) and line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners.
- To make the topping: In a small bowl combine flour, sugar, pumpkin spice, and a pinch of salt. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Set aside.
- To make the muffins: In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl whisk together pumpkin puree and melted butter. Add the eggs and buttermilk, and mix until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula stir flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Don’t overmix.
- Grease a ⅓ cup measuring cup and use it to portion ⅓ cup batter into each muffin cup. The muffin cups should be filled to the rim.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp of topping over each muffin and bake muffins for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then remove muffins from the pan and let cool on the rack for a few more minutes.
Notes
- Use muffin liners: I prefer to use muffin liners for this recipe! The muffins will come easier out of the pan and are easier to store. These muffins are super moist so they are more likely to stick to the pan when you don’t use liners.
- Don’t over-mix the batter: This is important for every muffin recipe. To ensure that your muffins are light and fluffy mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just barely combined, and no more dry flour is visible.
- Spices: Instead of using prepared pumpkin pie spice, you can easily make your own spice mix at home. It’s cheaper and adds more flavor. Just combine 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon ground allspice.
- Cooling: Don’t let the muffins cool down in the muffin tin! The hot muffin tin will continue to bake the muffins and you might end up with drier muffins. Give the muffins a couple of minutes to cool off, then remove them from the pan and transfer them to a cooling rack.
Christa says
These are delicious! Love the crumb topping.
Tricia says
These were by far the best muffins I’ve ever made. Fluffy texture with an awesome flavor
Reagan says
Can you substitute the buttermilk with almond milk?
Julia says
I don’t think almond milk would be a good substitute for the buttermilk. You could try some dairy-free yogurt mixed with a little almond milk to get to a buttermilk-like texture but please keep in mind that I’m not very experienced at baking with non-dairy milk so I’m not sure if this works.
Karly says
That crumble topping has me drooooling like a fool over here. These muffins look INCRED!