BEST Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin spice and everything nice! These pumpkin coffee cake muffins are the ultimate sweet treat. With a soft and MOIST pumpkin muffin topped with a crispy pumpkin spice streusel and finally a sweet maple icing. Not only do these pumpkin muffins have all the greatest textures and flavor, they're so SO easy to make. They're seriously the BEST pumpkin muffins!

how to make pumpkin muffins

These are seriously the best pumpkin muffins EVER and some of the best muffins I've had... period! They're basically like mini coffee cakes with pumpkin added into the mix. The muffin batter is made with just oil, which makes for muffins that are so soft and moist and keep for DAYS. To compliment the unbelievably soft base, the muffins are topped with a simple, crispy, crumbly streusel that seriously takes this recipe to the next level. It's all finished with a 2 ingredient maple glaze for the ultimate cozy flavor combo.

Not only are these beautiful, delicious, and have tons of amazing texture, they're also SO easy to make. You don't need to bring any ingredients up to room temperature beforehand (again, thanks to the use of oil in the batter!) And if you know how to mix, then you know how to make these muffins! Let's take a quick look at the steps involved in making these pumpkin muffins:

1. Streusel: This recipe starts with the streusel. All you need to do to make it is drop everything into a bowl and mix! The mixture should be crumbly but a little on the moist side of things. After making it, the streusel is set aside in the fridge while you prep the muffin batter. As it sits and chills, the butter will harden and the flour will absorb some excess moisture, leaving you with a perfectly crumbly mixture by the time you come to use it.
2. Wet ingredients: Once the streusel is done, you can get started on the muffin batter right away. The batter comes together in one bowl and starts by mixing all of the wet ingredients together to combine.
3. Dry ingredients: The dry ingredients are all added into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mixed together to complete the muffin batter. After adding the flour, it's important to watch out for overmixing. The muffin batter should have a few small clumps but no streaks of dry ingredients. Overmixing will overwork the gluten in the flour which will lead to dense, dry muffins.
4. Baking and cooling: To test if the muffins are ready to come out of the oven, a skewer inserted into the center should come out clean of any wet batter but it should still have a few cakey crumbs stuck to it. That means the muffins will be perfectly moist! Mine are always perfect after 25 minutes, but every oven is different, so keep an eye out. Once they're done baking, the muffins need to cool for about 10 minutes in the tin (they'll be too difficult to move when they're still fresh and hot).
5. Maple icing: The final piece to this delicious puzzle. This icing is made of just 2 ingredients (powdered sugar and maple syrup). Simply mix them together until it reaches your desired consistency and drizzle on the muffins. You can choose to make the icing a bit thicker or thinner - whatever you prefer! But it's always best to start with less maple syrup and gradually add more as needed.

tips for making super tall pumpkin muffins

My favorite part of any muffin has always been the top and nothing beats a TALL bakery style one. To achieve that extra tall muffin shape, here are 4 main tips to keep in mind to ensure your muffins bake up perfect:

1. Measure flour carefully - Flour is always best measured by weight to ensure you have exactly the right amount. But if you are using cups, don't scoop the measuring cup directly into the bag of flour! Instead, use a spoon to lightly scoop the flour into the cup until it reaches the top. Flour is a dense ingredient that can pack in on itself, so if you scoop the cup directly into the bag of flour, you could pack in more weight and dry out the muffins.
2. Don't overmix the batter - I already mentioned this above, but it's so important, it deserves a second reminder! Overmixing the muffin batter will lead to dense, dry muffins that don't rise properly.
3. Fill every other cup - This is one of the easiest ways to bake tall bakery style muffins. Instead of filling all 12 of the muffin cups, fill every other cup so no 2 muffins are directly side by side in the tin. This gives them more room to breathe and allows for better air circulation while they bake. The resulting muffins will be noticeably taller and will have a nicer rounded shape! This is optional and the muffins are perfectly delicious otherwise, but this really makes for a head-turning muffin.
4. Overfill the muffins cups - Unlike cupcakes, muffins need to be filled to the very top of the cup for the perfect height! These muffins will even go beyond the top (as you can see in the photo above) because of the streusel. This is the final piece to ensure the muffins bake up perfectly tall and also super moist.

how to bake pumpkin muffins

While some muffin recipes start off with a high temperature oven and then transition to a lower heat, I found these muffins baked much better a one consistent, slightly higher heat. Pumpkin is a high moisture ingredient, and I found that muffins made with a high start temperature didn't allow enough time for the excess moisture to evaporate, which lead to muffins that were a little too moist.

So for the best pumpkin muffins, these are baked at one consistent heat of 375F. That's slightly higher than your standard 350F but still lower than the usual high start at 400F that some muffin recipes may call for. This allows the muffins to puff up nicely but still gives them the chance to gradually bake through.

FAQs

Can I make these dairy-free?
Yes! Swap out the butter in the streusel for a DF alternative and use any non-dairy milk you like in the muffin batter.

Can I use homemade pumpkin puree?
I'd recommend avoiding homemade or any organic pumpkin purees as they tend to have more moisture and can cause the muffins to bake up dense. I personally recommend Libby's 100% pure pumpkin (not sponsored - just genuinely my go to!) And make sure you're using pure pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin should be the only ingredient listed. Pie filling has added sugar and spices and can throw off the flavor of the muffins.

Can I substitute the pumpkin spice?
Yes! You can use an equal amount of ground cinnamon or your favorite blend of spices. I like a mildly spiced muffin, but if you also love a stronger flavor, feel free to increase the amounts as well.

Can I substitute the oil for melted butter?
You technically can, but I personally find oil produces a better texture. Muffins made with butter tend to feel a bit drier and firmer because (unlike oil) butter will solidify when the muffins cool. If you do make the swap, you'll also need to allow all the other fridge ingredients to come up to room temperature to make sure the butter doesn't seize up.

Can I use extra virgin olive oil?
If you like the flavor, sure! But keep in mind it will flavor the muffins. For a milder taste, you can go with a lighter olive oil.

How do you store pumpkin muffins?
Keep these muffins covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container or plastic bag. They'll keep for about 5 days at room temperature or 1 week in the fridge.

check out these other recipes!

• Apple Coffee Cake
• Brown Butter Maple Crumb Cake
• Apple Crumb Muffins
• Super Moist Pumpkin Bread
• Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
• BEST Banana Muffins

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

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Enjoy!

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