See, now I’m a girl who keeps my promises, eh? About everything but picking up the dry-cleaning, at least. As I expected, these pumpkin muffins were a cinch, which is good, because I expect that from my muffins. They should max out at two bowls for prep, you should be able to mix them by hand and there shouldn’t be any excessively difficult steps. It’s not rocket science.
This recipe was all of that, plus, I discovered something – you know how they always say not to over-mix muffins? A large wire whisk, when mixing by hand, really allows you to incorporate all of the drying ingredients quickly without mashing them up too much. It’s made it much harder to overdo it, despite my better efforts.
And now, the part where I am a moron, because what entry would be complete without a little self-deprecation? Evidence the first: the recipe calls for a solid-pack pumpkin puree. What did I buy? Pumpkin pie filling; you know, the stuff doctored up with sugar and spices and some crap with a lot of letters. In my first attempt at the batter, I had already mixed the sugar with the eggs and oil when I realized the pumpkin already had enough sugar. So, I dumped it (please don’t ask where, because the state of our kitchen drain is unappetizing at best). But, then it turned out that maybe the pumpkin pie filling didn’t have enough sugar, but at this point (evidence the second) I had run out. Of sugar. It baffled me too. The muffins could use some more, both sugar and spice, which was by the way the other thing that I skipped, assuming the pie filling had enough. Well, meh, not enough for my tastes.
Despite my every attempt to wreck them, they’re a good pumpkin muffin, worthy of your palate. I can’t attest to whether the actual recipe, should you follow it, contains the correct amount of sugar or spice, for already-cited reasons, but who doesn’t adjust those things to taste, anyway? The sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar on top gave it a nice crisp on top when it came out of the oven, though unsurprisingly, it was somewhat softened by the time I took the better-lit pictures this morning.
Finally, in case you thought I was joking about my unbridled fervor over the new Gourmet issue yesterday, I offer up this evidence:
And this excludes the ones I determined too much of a calorie-heft for a weekday night, but am saving for later.
Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from the American club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine
New favorite adaptation 10/28/13, Sweet Potato Muffins: Roast a medium-to-large orange-fleshed sweet potato (pricked all over with a fork, at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour) until very tender. Let cool completely. (Can do this a day in advance; store in fridge.) Either mash or run potato flesh through a potato ricer. Measure 1 1/3 cup from this and continue with recipe below as printed.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (have successfully swapped whole wheat flour for half)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ginger + pinch of ground cloves and allspice)
1 cup (original recipe) to 1 1/3 cup (what I use these days; makes it even more rich) canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can, not pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and spiced)
1/3 cup vegetable or another neutral cooking oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in 12 standard-sized muffin cups.
Stir or whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spice in small/medium bowl.
In a larger bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and 1 1/4 cups sugar. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Divide batter among muffin cups (each about 3/4 full).
Stir together last tablespoon of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle over each muffin.
Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.
Do ahead: Most muffins don’t keep well, but these are excellent on Day 2 (after being stored in an airtight container at room temperature) and not bad at all on Day 3. If longer, I’d keep them in the freezer until needed.
I’m so glad to see this recipe! I love pumpkin muffins and have had the hardest time finding good ones to buy or even good recipes to make. (My all-time favorite pumpkin muffin is from Firehook Bakery in Washington, D.C. It is the apotheosis of pumpkin muffin-ery, and cannot be improved upon. It’s a very good thing that I don’t live in Washington any more, since my waistline was suffering from such regular indulging in pumpkin muffins.) I will definitely try these very soon.
I also wanted to tell you that I made your orange chocolate chunk Bundt cake for a weekend house party and it turned out beautifully, even with chocolate chips instead of chunks and seriously inferior oranges. It was delicious–thanks for the recipe!
I will give these a try. DH loves almost anything pumpkin flavored.
(PS…my ‘bland’ squash soup…I used banana squash instead of butternut squash. I wonder if that was my problem. I was in the local veggie market and noticed that what they had labeled as ‘squash’ when I purchased it, was now labled as ‘banana squash’. I guess I just assumed I was buying the right stuff. So I will try the recipe again, but this time I will buy the right squash! Helps to know what a butternut squash actually LOOKS like :o) )
I… I… I thought I was the only one who tabbed and color coded my magazines recipes for later attempts. *blink* I heart it. I totally heart it.
I haven’t yet attempted muffins because the recipes always sound so darn complicated. I might make an attempt… eventually… :) Thanks!
You should have been over on Saturday when Creepy Uncle Steve suggested that I roast the Pumpkin Seeds he was gutting from my pumkin. He must of confused me with you, and I said so.
Also, your tupaware is taking up valuable storage space. I have a whole shopping bag full. When ever you’re ready to pick it up!
Hey, your new blog site looks wonderful. Love it.
I am a big fan of the pumpkin muffins–we have them year-round and this time last year, they were one of my then infant son’s first foods.
I am a very big fan of adding a good handful of chocolate chips to pumpkin muffins. Ghiradelli chips are perfectly melty and use real and not imitation vanilla and enhance pumpkin very much.
Is it wrong that as soon as I saw these I thought…OOOOOO what a perfect place to put a giant dolop of cream cheese frosting?!?!?!?!
Like others, I’m so glad to see that I’m not the only one out there that tabs all my cooking magazines – and like you, I have many tabs on this month’s Gourmet! I went out and bought a deep dish quiche pan for the gorgeous pumpkin caramel pie right away – and I’m planning on making the squash souffle for an easy dinner this week!
Your posts are wonderful –
Jess
deb-
those look great! a lady that i work with made pumpkin muffins last week and she used the recipe from the inside of the label from, i think, a can of libby’s pumpkin. they were awesome! she made them bite size which is dangerous because you just lose count.
Wait wait! Are you going to post the granola recipe? It is tempting and I’d like to try it.
-just thought I’d ask.
I MUST make that for my husband. He will marry me all over again if I do that!
Thanks! I love all things pumpkin, and this is different enough from my pumpkin cupcake recipe.
I will try this soon!
Deb, I’ve been reading your Smitten archives as I do from time to time and… just thank you thank you thank you for having so many intelligent, thoughful things to say. You have a way of articulating your feelings that I envy and admire and while I wish I had your talent, I’m happy to settle for being a witness to yours. I’m at September 2003 – so much of what you were feeling then rings true for me right now and your observations make me feel so much stronger.
Um…YUM. These are the kind of muffins that make me want to run away from work with a thermos of cofee and a wicker basket packed tight with these lovelies. Thanks for the great tip about the wire whisk for mixing!
laughed out loud about your lovely writing – this situations sounds only too familiar…;)
the muffins look great, love the cinnamon-sugar on top – I think I will give them a try soon – but then with canned solid-pack pumpkin ;)
o yes – one question though; what is pumpkin-pie spice? is it made out of pumpkin or is it a combination of other spices to flavour pumpkin pie??
I love your “Despite my every attempt to wreck them, they’re a good pumpkin muffin”…you sound like my sister-in-law…she always says that.
Looks lovely babes…I love your new blog…it’s a happy moment in my day, thank you so much!
I live in New Zealand and pumpkins are big here, so I’m always getting them in my veggie box and looking for ways to use them up. This recipe looks great. Question though, I’m not going to use canned pumpkin with such an excess of the fresh stuff…so what process is the canned stuff that you mention put through, d you know? Also, as Julia says, what mixture of spices d’you use for pumpkin pie? Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves? What’s the scoop? Thanks Deb…keep on spreading pleasure as you do so well…
I´m with samphire about the adaptation for us without the canned version and the spice mix. Will steaming and then processing a regular pumpkin do?
Gretchen – I’m glad you loved the cake! I have a need here to say that it’s not my cake, but Ina Garten’s, you know, so when she sues me one day – or worse, doesn’t hire me – I can point to the fact that I made an effort. As for your favorite muffins, you should totally write into Gourmet and see if they can get the recipe for you. It’s how I found these!
Lisa – It might be the different squash, but I think that it’s very easy for squash soup to be bland. Squash is lovely, but it’s not any kind of palate-pow; it’s more subtle and comforting… which is why I prefer recipes that spice it up.
Yvo – Oh you should! Really, they’re a great way to start baking because they’re on the simple side and there’s only one big rule: don’t over-mix. After that, all you need is a good recipe.
Jocelyn – I can totally see you saying that, “who do you think I am? Debbie?” and it cracks me up. I saw the pics and would have loved to come. I’ll get the container soon, or we can have a Ladies Lunch.
Heels – Thank you. Chocolate? Of course, I’m taken aback, but almost-certainly, my husband has read this and will ask me why, if I love him, I didn’t put chocolate chips in mine, too. I’m with you on the Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips but their white chips, shockingly, have not an iota of chocolate in them. In fact, they call them “white chips” on the bag to cover their asses. Their white chocolate baking bars, however, are the real deal. I know you didn’t bring this up; I just get a little tangential!
Christine – Nope! I thought the same thing. In fact, I was thinking about whipping up some cream cheese and sweetening it a little to bring to work, but we had none. Le sigh.
Jessica G – I loved that pumpkin caramel pie, too. I love the idea of sweetening anything with homemade caramel. I did this for this chocolate cheesecake, and it adds a real depth-of-flavor missing in un-cooked sugar. Let me know how it goes!
Bawdy Penguin – Three to one, my inner calorie-counter wants to tell you, is the ratio of little to big muffins, but that would be weird, right? So, I’ll just say enjoy them. I’ll have to check out that recipe and see how it lines up with this; these are very simple so maybe there are more ways to jazz them up.
Lisa – Finally did. It’s awesome. My yogurt has never had it so good.
Ombra – Hee. I do that too, but I always say “If you do [something-or-other, usually the dishes], I’ll MARRY you!” and then he says, “But I’m already married.” I think he misses the point.
Tammi – Let me know what you think of it.
Mara – Thank you.
Sarah – I forgot to mention that, you know, muffin batter is a little thick for whisks, so you’ll end up doing some cleaning off. Still, the technique incorporated it evenly and quickly, without over mixing, so I’d do it again.
Julia – I don’t actually have pumpkin pie spice, which is just a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. There’s a good basic recipe here, which coincidentally adds up to 1 teaspoon, so you could just use those amounts and not pre-mix it.
Peabody – I made FOUR mistakes. I mean, am I broken? I understand intentionally adjusting things in a recipe, but I did this four times, and not intentionally. I’m scaring myself.
Samphire – Yes. You roast the pumpkin in the oven until it is very soft, scrape it off the skin and whirl it in the food processor. Voila! Fresh pumpkin puree.
deb – made these last night at your inspiration. very dense, but very moist. i added a little bit of nutmeg to the cinnamon-sugar topping, which i loved. wonder if there’s a way to make them a bit airier. cream cheese frosting is DEFinitely a consideration for next time. thanks for the idea!
Deb, I just made these and the spinach quiche today and YUM!!!! Not only were both recipes easy to make (a must for me) but they are delicious!
Interesting re the ghiradelli white chocolate–I am snooty about the white chocolate’s claim that it’s chocolate at all, so I almost never use it, except to help decorate pretzel rods, but even then, the main pretzel cloak is bittersweet chocolate!
I made these for Halloween, but I made them cupcake size (got 14 out of them) and did a cream cheese frosting (dyed green for the whole pumpkin effect). They were pefect! I *only* used a cup of sugar, which I think could be lessened if you’re going to do the frosting. Thanks for the recipe!
I finally made these this weekend. They were so good. Mine were very light. I made 1/5 x the recipe – ’cause I figured I might as well just use the whole can of pumpkin. I think they might be good with some raisins or cranberries added.
I just made this and my son declared them the best muffins ever :)
Now to taste my colossal cubes of cheer…
I stumbled on this recipe and have just made them. They are AWESOME. Airy, crispy on top…wow. I used one cup of sugar and ‘speculaas’-spices, which is Dutch and basically what you threw in yours ;).
Ad I missed the comment on what to do if you have none of that canned pumpkin, so I just cooked some pumpkin and mashed it with a fork. Roasting probably gives you more pumpkin-flavor, though…
Thanks!
So… I found this recipe and just made them. YUMMMY! I’ve been on a muffin kick for the past month+ and so far this is the best recipe. Of course, I had to deviate a little bit for the sake of “healthier”. For the sugar, I used only 1 cup instead of 1 1/4 using 1/2c regular and 1/2c raw sugar. For the flour, I used part white and part organic whole wheat. For the oil, I used part oil and part applesauce. Lastly, I had to add more pumpkin (about 1/4 cup) and a few xtra shakings of pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Hey, we love those flavors!
These are delicious – they’re even better the next day. I’d suggest serving them after they’ve sat out quite a bit, rather than right out of the oven.
Truly amazing pumpkin muffins. (I added a bit more pumpkin pie spice, of course.)
I stumbled upon your recipe and made them today. I DID have the right pumpkin goo but no pumpkin pie spice, so I improvised with a few shakes of allspice, ginger and cinnamon. They were wonderful! My picky kids even gobbled them up! I think next time I might cut down on the sugar a little, but other than that they tasted great and looked beautiful!
just made these. love them! very soft and moist. i followed the directions. next time i will try adding chopped pecans on top. yum!
I was in the mood for pumpkin yesterday, and couldn’t find my best pumpkin muffin recipe, so I thought I’d see what you had along those lines. Well, WOW. Fabulous. I made them as written; however, had to cobble together my own mix of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Anyway, they have supplanted my usual go-to pumpkin muffin recipe. THANKS!
I just made these this afternoon. I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so I used 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Because of the cinnamon in the batter I just sprinkled the tops with sugar. I also used whole wheat flour. They turned out beautiful and are VERY tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
I just made these and they were awesome! I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp cloves and 1/8 tsp nutmeg.
I thought it would be too much sugar because the batter tasted really sugary, but it ended up being perfect! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
I just made this recipe with my pre-k class! All of the children loved it, and it was easy for them to measure and mix. I didn’t have enough muffin tins, so I poured the leftover batter into a square cake pan. I just kept an eye on it and it turned out great! I’ve also given this website out to everyone who asks where I got the recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! I am going to use it on my preschoolers, we are adding whole wheat flour and1/2 c xylitol instead of sugar. The flavor was still amazing! Thanks so much!
I just made these, and I’m trying really hard not to devour the whole batch before my husband gets home!
A couple modifications I made: used 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Sucanat, accidentally used 1 tsp baking soda (instead of 1/2 tsp), and tossed in the remainder of a bag of mini-chocolate chips. Mine baked 22 minutes and came out moist and fluffy. Oh, and the recipe makes a dozen. I don’t remember reading that.
Thanks for this recipe!
I just made these and, while they smell INCREDIBLE, they’re REALLY wet at the bottom. I think I used the wrong pumpkin….and I had WAY too much batter for a dozen. Looking over the ingredients, I can’t figure out what I did wrong!! Oh well, I have a whole jar of pumpkin pie spice, now….better get to more of your great pumpkin delights! (How soon is TOO SOON to try that silky pumpkin pie??)
I made these yesterday with following modifications–
1. I mixed all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet in another & then combined (the recipe wasn’t all that clear to me as to method).
2. I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup regular
3. I used 1 tsp cinnamon plus pinches of other baking spices (I don’t have pumpkin spice) and topped them with coarse sugar and cinnamon.
4. I added 1 tsp vanilla.
They were great as mini muffins.
They were a bit too moist at first, but as they cooled it was perfect.
I have made these several times now & I L-O-V-E them! I did adapt the recipe a bit – when the muffins are cool enough to handle, but still very warm, I brushed the tops with melted butter & rolled them in a mixture of cinnamon, sugar & a dash of pumpkin pie spice. DELISH!
Thanks for sharing!
ok so I adjusted this recipe a bit as well
1½ cups all wheat flour (should have done like #37 above and used both but they were good)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup fresh pumpkin (left over from halloween baked and froze it)
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon all spice
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
I made some cream cream icing. They were really good without it for breakfast etc… but OMG! good with it on there. Thanks for sharing the original recipe.
thx for a great recipe. i made the following changes:
1c sugar + 1/4c packed brown sugar
2T coarse brown sugar (“sugar in the raw”) w/1teaspoon cinnamon as the topping
results were delicious. they’re very moist.
Awesome!
I made these for the second or third time, and they were enjoyed by all. thanks for all the wonderful recipes, stories and pictures. I enjoy your blog often, although I have never written a response before.
Great tasting muffins! Enough pumpkin to be a healthy snack, but not too much pumpkin for the kids to get suspicious. Thanks!
I’ve made these a few times .. love pumpkin!
Husband suggested (and I’ve complied) adding poppy seeds – he seem sto think he can taste the difference, but I just like the tiny crunches.
I am sorry but can anyone explain the A with the symbol in the recipe.
Jenn-
It looks like it’s a coding error. The A is representing a space between 1 and 1/4. When it appears before a measurement, ignore it. It doesn’t mean anything.
Thanks Tori — It is. I keep finding them. This one is all cleaned up now.
You really can’t mess this recipe up. Double something, cut something in half, and it still comes out great. That’s the secret of pumpkin.
I just made these last night – followed the recipe exactly and they came out fantastic! Thanks so much!
yummy! although i accidently used the entire can of pumpkin (15oz) so had to double the rest of my ingredients so that they wouldn’t turn out too pumpkin-y :)
I loved your story..the way you said it was sooo funny!!! *crap of letters* i know exactly what you are talkin about hahaha i can’t stop laughing. yay for pumpkin muffins
Not sure if this is the right spot for this comment, but the pumpkin made me think of it: have you ever tried Idiot Muffins? (AKA Weight Watcher’s 4-Point Muffins, but I call them that because even an idiot like me can’t mess them up.) Recipe: One cake mix and one 15-oz. can of pumpkin. That’s it. Determine muffin flavor by choice of cake mix. Spice = pumpkin spice; vanilla = lighter pumpkin (you could add spices and/or nuts); and the most amazing: chocolate = chocolate! No pumpkin taste at all if you use a chocolate cake mix, especially dark chocolate fudge. And you can use reduced-sugar mix if you want. They are lumpy, moist and chewy. One recipe = 12 muffins in regular cupcake tins.
Where does the baking powder go? I mixed it with the flour. I don’t know you and I should probably not ask, but I do wonder if you were under the influence when you made this. I should talk–I had most of the ingredients in a bowl before I realized that I had no white flour in the cabinet. I used whole wheat instead and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
This is a really good recipe, one that I will continue to make and play with. I made them today as a gift for someone, and managed to snag a few to taste. QUITE delicious. My adaptations were to sub 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and add a 1/2 cup of toasted coconut. On future tries, I will double to pumpkin pie spice (the original recipe is not spiced enough for me) and experiment with pecans, chocolate bits, and the cream cheese surprise center–not all at once, though! I also cannot wait to try it in my new Gold Touch loaf pan.
Incidentally, I make my own pumpkin puree for baked goods (can’t seem to get canned pumpkin down here) and find that draining it in cheesecloth for a day in the refrigerator is essential.
I used the pumpkin pie mix by mistake too! But I just put aboutu 3/4 cup sugar, and it was great. I also added some chocolate chips into the mix. Yes, it adds a few calories, but tastes oh so good.
Whoa, this are amazing. Just made them, albeit the following changes due to the ingredients I had on hand. Rather than pumpkin pie spice I used cinammon, ginger, and cloves in a 4:2:1 ratio. I also replace vegetable oil, with a canola/vegetable hybrid oil. Way cool on the cinnamon/sugar sprinkle topping, it adds a nice touch. Thanks for posting this.
I just made up the batter for these muffins and if it is any indication, these muffins will be glorious! Destined to become my all-time favorite pumpkin recipe!
…just made these and put salty sunflower seeds & dried cranberries on top! A+++
(RIP Gourmet! We will love and miss you!)
Been looking all over the place for a pumpkin recipe that didn’t call for ingredients I didn’t have but at the same time had great reviews! I think I’ve found it :). Thank you very much for sharing this. I’m definitely going to bake these today :)!
Amazing recipe! I cut the sugar to 1/2 C light brown sugar and they’re plenty sweet. I actually substituted mashed sweet potato for the pumpkin because I had leftovers but I think the result would be pretty similar.
I used home-made pumpkin puree that was probably a little watery compared to canned puree, but I went by all the other amounts listed in the recipe, and they turned out fantabulous. Thank you so much for posting this!
They are baking in the oven now and my whole house smells like a Yankee Candle. Thanks for the recipe!
Just making this recipe for the 2nd time this week. It’s great. Thanks!
These muffins are absolutely delicious. I made half as is and added cranberries and walnuts to the other half and doubled the amount of spices. The best part of the muffin…….the crunchy topping from the reserved cinnamon and sugar. Thanks for posting a great go-to no frills pumpkin muffin recipe.
I am baking these muffins right now. You dont mention when to use the baking powder? I just mixed it in with the flour since later you say to add the flour mixture. I dont have the finished product yet, but the batter tastes amazing!
I just made these for breakfast – delicious! Except I just realized I left out the baking soda. Oops. Apparently this recipe is very forgiving.
I have made 3 batches of these muffins in the last 4 days. Everyone loves them! I will be making more this weekend. Even my husband, son and friend who “don’t do pumpkin” love them!
I have to say that I love this recipe. I did discover that I was missing a couple of ingredients but made a substitution that yielded pleasantly surprising results. I discovered when I was preparing the kitchen that I was out of white sugar, and baking soda. So I added a few different things to offset what I was missing. I used brown sugar instead of white sugar in the same measurements. I doubled the baking powder to offset the lack of baking soda. Finally to offset the sweetness of the brown sugar I grated a large chunk of fresh ginger. Also, since it is October, I had used fresh pumpkin rather than canned… in my experience that does not always make much difference in the taste when baking. I hope that this is helpful to anyone who likes to experiment in the kitchen.
also I use whole wheat flour (generally)
i tried it and its yummy. Well have to tell you that your blog is wonderful, i’ve been following it for a long time. Great source of inspiration :D
<3
Great site:) Can’t wait to try these…do you know the nutritional content? They seem fairly healthy. I must add you to my Roll :)
I added cranberries and apples to these and made them in mini muffin tins. They are SO good.
PS your website is amazing!
This is a great (and forgiving) recipe. I think 1 cup of sugar is more than plenty. Also substituted apple-cranberry sauce for part of the oil (2 parts apple-cranberry sauce, 1 part oil) and added 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/4 cup pepitas to the batter. They are delicious!
Made these this weekend. They were awesome.
For those of you who are Gluten Free, these are the substitutions I made:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour [Used 3/4 cp of rice flour, >1/4 cp tapioca starch, 1/4 cp potato starch)
1 teaspoon baking powder (1 heaping tsp baking powder)
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can) (Used all of a 15oz can except for about 1/2cp)
1/3 cup vegetable oil* (Used less than 1/3rd + 1 smashed banana)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice (Used 1tbl cinnamon, 1tsp ground ginger and 1.5tsp ground nutmeg)
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar** (Used only 1/2 cp brown sugar, 1/4cp white)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (double the amount)
1/2 teaspoon salt
+ 1tsp xanthum gum
Had to cook on bottom rack for 30 min at 350. The moved to top rack at 300 and cooked for about another 15-20min. Gluten free takes longer to cook through the middle.
Drizzled with a basic glaze.
Made these tonight to get me in the mood for Thanksgiving cooking on Thurs. SO Delicious! Made them just as the recipe said… a new favourite.
Just made these and they were fabulous! They smelled so great especially with the sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top, yum!! The only thing that would be good is to add a little bit more pumpkin spice to add a little more flavor to make the pumpkin really stand out, thanks for the great recipe! :)
These are our new “go to” pumpkin muffins! My kids just love these! The only thing we do different is a little sprinkle of mini chocolate chips on top! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
your magazines look just like mine, color coded postits sticking out for all the recipes i may not even get to because there are so many! hahahaha ^_^ LOVELOVELOVE pumpkin and will probably make these today…. even though it’s not “pumpkin season” anymore…
i want to try baking this pumpkin muffin. But i think they don’t sell canned pumpkin here. Can you please tell me if i can puree the kabocha pumpkin, or should i just grate the pumpkin? please please please help me on this..thank you..
Hi Tika — Roast and puree. A thick puree will be closest to canned.
So, I’m confused. Will it work with a pumpkin pie mix? I bought it by mistake, and was hoping to use it for something other than pie, and these sound so goo! :)
Wanted to come back (after months after I’ve made these) – just to say thanks again for sharing this recipe! I made this several times over the past holiday and were a hit! Simple, moist, and super yummy :D. Your blog is now a favorite of mine!
These are some quality muffins. Made them gluten and egg-free and they happily accepted the substitutes. I love working with pumpkin when I’m trying to adapt recipes, its so friendly and helpful in holding things together!
I was looking for a comforting breakfast-y, bread-y thing to make for myself after being up with a teething baby for two nights in a row, and after considering and rejecting pancakes, waffles, and french toast I decided on muffins. I had two requirements for the recipe: 1) It needed to be quick and uncomplicated, and 2) I needed to have all of the ingredients on-hand. Your page was the first place I looked, and I am so happy to have found these; they are absolutely delicious, and just what I was wanting.
This certainly is a forgiving recipe! I accidentally added three eggs instead of two, and they turned out just fine. I also had more batter than I needed for twelve standard muffins, but not enough for another full tin, so I took the leftover batter and plopped it into a mini loaf pan.
Thank you for your beautiful site! I often turn to it for cooking inspiration, and recommend it to friends!
I just wanted to say since the first time I saw these in the fall, they have become a staple recipe :) I found you when I was googling for a recipe of this sort. Now, I am an avid reader. Thank you so much! I adore your blog.
oh and i wanted to say I make them with your “mistakes” and they’re perfect :)
neat that the person above me is also laura, but with a baby :)
I apologize for not having the time to read through the entries (twin 5y/o and 7y/o), but how does one keep the remains of the pumpkin? Freeze? Reuse in a few days? I’m not too good on that. Things grow wings in my fridge.
Unused pumpkin puree should freeze well.
I made these last night and my kids gobbled them up for breakfast this morning. Harleydude, I used frozen puree (come to think of it, it may have been buttercup squash, not pumpkin) – it keeps for ages in the freezer. Do yourself a favour and freeze it in 1 cup portions.
I just made these today and i thought they were great, though next time i think i will add some cinnamon into the batter because i love cinnamon.
Also, i used some blue hubbard squash instead of pumpkin because we had it from last fall. I made mini muffins instead and(cooked them for 15 minutes) made 48 adorable muffins.
Wow, these were so out of this world; very moist & flavorful. Thanks, Deb.
Christine, I am so with you on the cream cheese frosting. I made a batch and put a swirl on top of every one of them with some crumbled toasted walnuts. HEAVENLY!!!
I wonder if you have tried to make the pumpkin muffins from Dorie Greenspan’s baking book? i just made them a couple of days ago and they were delish! there was alot of room for interpretation because they have dried fruit and nuts which you can mix and match.
I am making these again today for the umpteenth time! Love them? Understatement!
I absolutely love this recipe! I’ve made it so many times – definitely a favourite! I haven’t had these muffins in a couple months and am making them now – can’t wait! :)
Another vote for the pumpkin muffins! We (my 3-year old and my mother and I) made these as a rainy day activity. Perfect. Lots of mixing, and forgiving enough for a girl who loves to “stir the pot”
She also loved sprinkling the cinnamon sugar on top. Whoo-boy did she love that part.
Definitely adding these to the rotation.
(They would make excellent fall dinner party desserts with some cream cheese frosting, instead of the sugar, I think. Then again, what *isn’t* good with cream cheese frosting?”
I just made these on a whim today, and they’re great! I made a lot of pumpkin bread last year, but recently moved and lost my bread pans! It’s getting cooler out and this unused can of pumpkin was calling to me from my cupboard. The cinnamon and sugar topping is a good idea, too! It adds just the right “something.” I only wish I’d had some pumpkin seeds or walnuts to throw in! Thanks for the recipe!
i have been waiting to make these for months now, since i first came across this post. sadly, canned pumpkin is seasonal (uh, it’s in a CAN), so by the time the canned stuff came in, i figured i might as well use fresh pumpkin. so changes: roasted and pureed a sugar pie pumpkin; used browned butter in place of the oil; and threw in a handful (maybe half a cup?) of toasted chopped walnuts i had in the freezer. WOW worth the wait! next time i will also try swapping in some whole wheat flour and maybe some brown sugar in place of the white. mine also made enough batter for probably 14 muffins, which annoys me to no end, so i made one larger one in a souffle cup, which baked for about 10 minutes longer.
I’m in Australia and had a yearning for my Virginia home, for which this recipe fit the bill perfectly! I had to improvise with a little Japanese pumpkin I got from the market. I cooked it in an 8×8 pan since I didn’t have muffin tins and bumped up the flour to 1 3/4 cups. I threw in some chocolate chips and baked it for an extra five minutes. It was moist and delicious: I love the crunchy topping. Thanks, Deb!
These are delicious! I couldn’t believe how moist they were. Love them. Gave my 1yr old a piece and she was begging for more, they are a hit! :)
These were fantastic! On a whim, google’d Pumpkin Muffins yesterday and your site and recipe were the winner! Made them right away — super fast and easy. And oh my! Terrific! Moist, yummy, goodness. Hubby and kids (including the one that doesn’t like pumpkin pie and didn’t want to try it but tried it anyway) loved them. Thank you! I’m very excited to discover more goodies on your website.
Well, I’ve been making goodies off of your website for quite some time. Thought I would comment and let you know how tasty your recipes are! Just made these. Made half of the batch regular muffins and the other half large muffins with walnuts on top. Yummy!
These look great! I wish I had seen this post before making the post I made tonight (I made pumpkin chocolate chip banana muffins)–thank you for the recipe, I’ll have to try it out.
Have made these before and they are always good! Today I substituted whole wheat flour for half of the flour. And I even put less sugar- just a bit under 1 cup. They tasted great and not one child mentioned the healthy changes!!
I tossed a cup of raisins in flour, then folded them in the batter. Yum.
Took these to the stables today and everyone loved them. The children ate nearly all of them before the grown ups had a chance to try one! Thank you!
I had a crazy craving for pumpkin this week, so thought I’d check online for a good recipe. I found lots, but many of them called for oats (which I didn’t have on hand) or were entirely too complicated. I don’t know why I didn’t come here first – I should have known that you’d have a fabulous recipe waiting for me! I made these yesterday for breakfast – absolutely delicious! My kids loved them too! I didn’t use the full amount of sugar (about 1 1/8c) based on many of the comments who said that the muffins didn’t need all 1 1/4c, and they turned out perfect for our family. Sorry I’m crazy late to the pumpkin-muffin-love-fest, but better late than never, right? ;)
This is my second time making these muffins in the last week. First time I followed the recipe to a “t” but it came out far too sweet. This time I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and skipped the extra tablespoon and it was perfect. I even added a Nutella swirl to a select few. Thanks for the recipe, Deb!
I made these muffins last week per the recipe and they were delicious! Thanks for sharing. My son even ate them to the last bite, and this is a child who usually won’t eat anything in the form of a muffin or cupcake that doesn’t have icing attached it its top! :)
I made these this morning (with just a few tweaks) and they turned out great! Thanks for sharing.
Made these for the first time on Sunday…AMAZING! I am totally addicted! All of the ingredients are waiting in the kitchen for me to start (double) batch #2 (3 days later only 1 muffin is left). The recipe is absolutely perfect as written but I’m going to need to “healthy” the next batch up….because if I eat another 9 muffins in 3 days I’m going to need to invest in some larger clothes. Thank you for your fantastic recipes!
getting ready to make these for thanksgiving tomorrow! have made them several times before and love them!
As usual, delicious! I also did a x1.25 recipe to use a full can of pumpkin, and yielded 12 regular muffins (I should have filled them a bit more; I did about 2/3), 12 minis, and one loaf. Per another suggestion, I added coarsely chopped cranberries to half of the batter; terrific suggestion! I’d do raw or crunchy sugar on top next time; white sugar didn’t add any crunch and was a waste.
I just made these yesterday, and loved them. I did a few substitutions: roasted pureed butternut squash instead of pumpkin, only 1 cup of sugar in the batter instead of 1.25 cups, and melted butter instead of oil. I also used 1 chicken egg and one duck egg because I ran out of chicken eggs, but I couldn’t taste a difference. I didn’t have premixed pumpkin pie spice, so I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp powdered ginger. I think I baked them about 20 minutes, but that may be because my oven is curmudgeon-y.
I’m getting completely hooked on using roasted butternut squash instead of canned pumpkin… It only takes a bit more time than the can, and is WAY tastier and easier than sugar pie pumpkins.
Just made these – they smell wonderful. Only problem is I forgot to put in the baking powder! I’m getting too spoiled by your wonderful directions — I’ve now added in a line “and baking powder” to the line that begins “Whisk together pumpkin….” so I don’t forget AGAIN next time.
Otherwise, freaking delicious! Every recipe just gets better and better that I try…. (although, my all-time favorite so far is that chocolate sour-cream frosting. OUT of this WORLD!)
Oh crap. I saw the “15 oz can” note and used the whole can. I would delete that notation. But my little pumpkin puddings are yum. If I’d done it right I would have blended the rest of the pumpkin with cream cheese to go with them.
They’re in the oven right now! They were easy to make, though I really wanted to use my new kitchen aid stand mixer!
Love this recipe. Made them 2x so far. This time, I used canned sweet potato instead of canned pumpkin and I used 1/2 cup ww flour. Next time, I will try cutting the sugar a bit.
I enjoy this simplified recipe, compared to the Gourmet recipe. Instead of measuring out a cup of pumpkin, I added the entire can of puree. In addition, I reduced the sugar to a cup and you honestly couldn’t tell the difference. The muffins still had the bounce texture and sweet cinnamon taste.
I just made these over the weekend and they were really good. I changed the recipe a bit though. I halved the oil and then substitued in prune puree to make it healthier. Subbed in a bit of whole wheat flour too…about 25%. I added 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal to up the healthy quotient again. I also added spice to them including 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/8 teaspoon of cardamom. I also reduced the sugar to one cup of which half was white and half was light brown.
Very delicious! The husband and I both gobbled these up. I got 12 muffins, though I used only half of the sugar/cinnamon mixture for sprinkling and that was plenty. Thanks Deb!
Awesome, awesome. Just ate one. Mmmm. Perfect for the current “snowpocolypse.” I am thinking of making some of Martha Stewart’s honey cinnamon buttercream frosting for the top… just because, why not?
So I followed the recipe as written (except added 1/8 tsp all spice, 1/4 tsp ginger & some fresh grated nutmeg instead of the pumpkin pie spice) and these muffins are ama-za-zing!!!
Wonderful! I added only 1/2 cup of sugar, applesauce for all but 1 T of the oil, and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. Just delicious. Thanks, Deb!!!
American in Germany, made these today- followed the recipe excactly but added
1 cup of raisins that had been soaked in water (for moisture) and then drained.
Great!
Made these with several changes based on what I had and added oatmeal:
I replaced 3/4 of the flour with regular oats, microwaved with 1 cup applesauce (instead of the pumpkin) for 3 minutes. I only used 1/2 cup of sugar because the applesauce added sweetness, and I replaced the oil with 1 tablespoon of butter (melted into the microwaved applesauce oatmeal) and 1/4 cup of yogurt.
They are like a cinnamon apple spice oatmeal muffin.
Delicious. Your pictures are much better than mine (which I took with my cell phone) but I did post a pic at http://anittahpatrick.com/being/elizabeth-taylor-intersection-yours-truly/2011/05/10 =) (second picture down)
I am so excited to bake these tonight! I’ve been craving pumpkin muffins for a whole week now.
Ooh, these were/are really tasty!
I made them with some of the pumpkin puree that I made back in October (Jarrahdale or Ironbark pumpkin). Dropped the sugar to 1 cup but will probably drop it to 2/3 c. next time as the blue pumpkin I used was sweet to begin with. Added chopped bittersweet chocolate to the last half-doz. Made 17 muffins.
In an attempt to use up more of the gallon(!!!) of pumpkin taking up valuable space in my freezer I also made a batch of the pumpkin butter… Goes really well spread on the muffins. Nom.
I lacked all of the ingredients for my usual pumpkin muffin recipe, but had all of the ones for this recipe. I was in a rush, but these took no time at all. I was bringing a few of them to a 3 year old friend in the hospital who was not eating. He immediately ate one and wanted another! I had a message from his mom this afternoon asking if I could make more. Just made a second batch, this time using the sweet potato I had on hand. Delicious!
FORGOT THE SUGAR! I have made these countless times. this time i read the recipe to my 11 year old son while i was working. The batter didnt look right when I was scooping into the pans, so I added some carrot juice to thin it out a bit… They also didnt puff up and had kind of a crust. Well… These are my “Pumpkin Biscuits” and I whipped up some butter with cinnamon and sugar for the kids to put on it. Huge hit! Kids love them with the butter/sugar, I like them plain with coffee. :)
I just made these for my husband, who has been “asking” (aka whining) for pumpkin muffins for a week. Now, I’m sorry I didn’t give into his pleading earlier – these are wonderful!!! I think next time though I will reduce the sugar and try applesauce or prune puree in place of the oil. Oh, and I added walnuts…. yum!!! :)
These muffins are probably the most delicious muffins I’ve ever tasted! They turned out perfectly, and the cinnamon sugar on top makes them crazy good. There was a slight problem though… I ate almost the entire batch myself! Anyhow, thank you Deb for bestowing upon us all these splendid muffins!
I ADORE the way you write!!! and your photos are stunning.
I wish your receipes provided the “do this instead” hints for the fussy ingredients – like pumpkin pie spice and unsalted butter and corn starch. I consider those to be “fussy” and my house rarely has things like that
In the oven now! ;)
Amazing! I double the amount of pumpkin pie spice and add a bit more cinnamon and the result is super yummy and flavourful! These honestly taste like a healthy pumpkin cake with all the tastes of fall. Thank you so much! And what gorgeous photos!
I made these last night and everyone loved them! We did half with chocolate chips and the other half without and both variations were delicious.
I appreciate all of your recipes and willingness to teach us and share.
Whipped these up for breakfast this morning and they were DELICIOUS. And so easy.. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting this recipe. I made some today and they came out so well it was the highlight of my day. I did add some toasted walnuts as well as cut the sugar by 1/4 cup. I could not find pumpkin pie spice in my cabinet so I used nutmeg, cinnamon and some fresh ginger. And, I did use fresh pumpkin puree also and increased the eggs by one since I did not have large eggs. Anyhow, these are the best muffins I’ve made so far. Thanks once again!
Made these last week. Making them again today. They were fantastic. I made them as the recipe listed, but used Organic Pumpkin Pie Mix. I still added all the ingredients/spices but I lessened the sugar by about 1/2c. I made little muffins that have a small divot on top for jelly/icing etc. I made 1/2 with cream cheese frosting (YUM!) and 1/2 with a dollop of pumpkin butter (also YUM). Thank you so much for posting this recipe! LOVED IT!
Made these tonight and they turned out great! I also only used a cup of sugar and had to make the pumpkin spice from cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, but they came out delicious. I’m so glad this recipe was the first result on a “pumpkin muffin” google search! :)
I LOVE this!! My family’s favorite!!! I come back to this recipe every fall and make them, they’re amazing every time!
I just found this recipe. And I loved the intro to the recipe, this is so me in the kitchen. Oh, a 1/4 cup? So I shouldn’t have dumped in a 1/2 cup. My husband is always very kind, eating (almost) anything I cook. But I can’t wait to try these out! I know I have pumpkin in the pantry, though I’m pretty sure it’s the pumpkin pie filling. But isn’t that what great cooks do, improvise when they need to? That’s us, too! (Just on a different level.)
Just made these muffins and they were wonderful! I actually ate them with a pat of butter and about died. These get the pregnant woman stamp of approval :) So simple!
Did you know you could make these muffins without eggs? Yea, I got distracted and didn’t realize until I was putting them into the oven that I had forgotten to put the eggs in. HA! Not only that but I didn’t realize the 1/4 of sugar and the 1 tsp of cinnamon was supposed to go on top. It all went into the mix. I also thought it was a lot of sugar but, you know, I was following the recipe, or so I thought. I’m laughing out loud to myself. Maybe I should try reading the recipe before starting to put it together. LOL! The good news is that the muffins turned out great!
Just put these into the oven! I wanted to make jumbo muffins, so i doubled the recipe with the exception of the oil. I used 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup of maple syrup to achieve the ‘double’ oil for the recipe. We’ll see how it turns out. Oh…also used 1 1/2 cups of sugar total since i figured the maple syrup would add a LOT of sweetness. Hopefully i didn’t ruin them…we’ll see in about 12 minutes :) Thanks for the super easy recipe, they already smell amazing!
This my first Smitten comment ever, even though I spend most of my free time drooling over your recipes! I wanted a quick baking project wih my boys (5 and 4)today and this totally fit the bill. I used 1 cup sugar, half white, half light brown, and used my own combo of spices to recreate pumpkin pie spice. They were airy and moist…totally delicious. A perfect muffin for this time of year, when you can finally turn your oven on again. Will be making a 2nd batch of mini-muffins to bring to the kids soccer practice this afternoon. Thanks so much for sharing your talent and humor Deb!
I made these a couple of weeks ago, and they were a big hit with my family! I just realized now that I forgot to add the cinnamon to the sugar I sprinkled on top of them before baking, but they were delicious just the same. They taste like fall!
I made these over the weekend, and if you can believe it, my husband smarted them all! Baking with pumpkin is a delicate science, what a fantastic recipe! Thank you for sharing it.
So, I woke up early to make these before class. Prolly not the best idea. I didn’t read the 1 cup pumpkin part until I saw someone else comment. So my recipe got doubled.. And then I almost forgot the baking powder… And then the cinnamon sugar topping. Buttt they’re in the oven now, and hopefully will be done awesome and in time for class.
Oh yeah, they’re pretty awesome. I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice, or even nutmeg or ginger, so I added some cinnamon and vanilla to the recipe. My double batch made 12 rather large “normal” muffins, and 32 small muffins, which are probably the biggest small muffins ever. I was trying to use up batter, it could make more.
My sister made these pumpkin muffins last week and was raving about them, so of course, now I have to try them… can’t wait! Also, seeing that last photo of your gourmet issue with all the markers makes me a little nostalgic – so sad gourmet is out of print.
I was going through my cupboards yesterday and found 2 cans of pumpkin puree, so decided to make muffins today. Your recipe was 3rd on the google list, but I picked it because 1. It used canned puree, and 2. The pictures are very pretty. So today I gathered up my 8 year old and 4 year old and the ingredients to the recipe, doubled, and baked some up. They are still warm on the counter, making my house smell fantastic! The only changes I made were I used nutmeg and cloves instead of “pumpkin pie spice”, I reduced the amount of sugar to 2 cups, and I used “homestyle white” bread flour, because that is what I had in my kitchen. I have to say these are the tastiest, tenderest pumpkin muffins I have made, ever! My whole family likes them, except my 2 year old, who doesn’t like pumpkin, and my 9 month old, who is still napping and has yet to try them. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Awesome…threw in a 3/4c White Chocolate Chips. Yum.
Just took a batch of these out of my oven to go with my homemade chix soup for lunch and they are delish, light and fluffy, not dense and heavy, added the mini choc chips, tho, and used just the 1 cup of sugar, have been buying pumpkin choc chip muffins at the local bakery for a while, and they are quite expensive and hugh, so figured I would try my own, and voila there was your recipe, thanks so much, love your recipes, pictures, and your beautiful little boy, have a great day~~
i finally made these; i’ve been meaning to for ages and, for some reason or another, never got around to it. i used a bit less sugar, and a bit more pumpkin pie spice (though, that part was on accident), and i think they came out perfect. i also put a little extra cinnamon sugar on the top, though it didn’t add the extra crunch i was hoping for. overall, i think they were delicious (i ate 3 right out of the oven!), and i’ve had requests from 3 people to make another batch! next time i’m thinking of adding a bit of dark chocolate…
i have made these many times and this morning i was disappointed to run out of white flour – i thought they’d be less fluffy with a mix of whole wheat – but i was totally wrong. the 1/2 white 1/2 wheat mix is soooo yummy with these. thanks again for sharing all of these recipes with us!
Hey! I am a huge fan of your blog and have told many people that I could live off just the recipes I find here. I love everything you make! And these pumpkin muffins were no exception. OMG, they held together so well, didn’t fall apart when I took them out of the pan (I didn’t use cupcake papers), and were OMG tasty. Everyone loved them! Just one wee tiny suggestion….could you re-write the recipe to organize it better? It’s not up to your usual perfection. The ingredients are out of order, and there is no mention of where to add the baking powder in the body of the recipe. Even after some blunders I love the recipe enough to come back to it today….I still have home-roasted pumpkin left to use!
Hi Deb! I’m a fan and finally decided to start putting my bookmarks to use. Made these tonight, couldn’t be simpler and turned out great. I used my mini-muffin tin and buttered it just to be on the safe side. Chocolate chips in the last 1/3 of the batter, just for fun. Thanks!
My favorite substitution for pumpkin bread/muffins is to sub corn meal for about 1/3 of the flour. It gives them some bite, as I tend to think pumpkin bread can verge on pasty in the texture department. I just tried it with this recipe – delicious.
Delicious! but do NOT use fresh cranberries in this.
I decided to add some orange juice and fresh cranberries in before baking. After it’s done and when I took out a slice, I notice green “moldy” colors everywhere, especially around the cranberries. I googled some and found that reaction of baking soda and cranberry can turn things green. Super sad face. It still taste good, except it looks like there’s mold in it fresh out of the oven….scary…
I’d imagine dried cranberries would be ok…I use this recipe once with raisins and extra 1/4c of orange juice and it came out delicious.
I made these using butternut squash puree yesterday because I couldn’t decide what else to do with the squash. I made a couple of other changes too – ginger, cinnamon and vanilla instead of the pumpkin pie spice and only 1 cup of sugar. I used walnuts, brown sugar and crystallized ginger to make a streusel topping. I baked them for 20 minutes and they are moist and delicious.
So, I wanted a snack-cake to have on hand (exam season = stress eating). I therefore made this with a couple of changes: 1/2C oat flour + 1C whole wheat pastry flour, 1/3C maple syrup, 1 tsp macadamia nut oil, quadruple (YES) the amount of spice, 1 egg, 2 tsp molasses, 1 pecan crumbled over each muffin. I got 12, wonderfully moist, not-too-sweet muffins. REALLY GOOD for anyone looking to make these a tiny bit more guilt-free (:
I made these yesterday…added fresh grated nutmeg…I was also makin Black Bottom Cupcakes and wondered how the cream cheese mix would be with the pumpkin muffins….the answer “DELICIOUS”!! Made regular cupcake size and filled 1/2 with pumpkin then a large spoonful of the cream cheese mix. YUM…great recipes. Thanks..
I made these last night for co-workers & a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving and they are amazing! I doubled the recipe, which worked well. I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so I used 1/2 tsp of ginger, 1tsp nutmeg, and I think 2 of cinnamon. You were definitely right about the sugar too! Thanks so much! Everyone has been raving about them!
Good morning. I just made these muffins with my own modifications, I added 1c cooked quinoa, used 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree, use brown sugar, instead of white, 1 tbsp vanilla. I also created my own crumble for the top with almond meal, butter, brown sugar & cinnamon. They are wonderful.
These muffins are fabulous and foolproof (which I need for baking). Do you know the nutrition information for them? I tried to look on Gourmet Magazine’s website and wasn’t able to find it. Thank you!
These came out great and they’re so easy! Since I’m from Louisiana and have access to it, I put a healthy sanding of cane sugar on the top and it formed the most amazing crunch. Brought them to my coworkers and everyone wanted the recipe. I used light olive oil instead of vegetable oil, but followed the recipe everywhere else. Super moist and not too sweet. Thank you!
Yum! And so easy. Used frozen pumpkin from a YEAR ago, 1/2 brown sugar (total 1 cup) and added (at the end) about 1 cup of old dried up raisins (plumped up by pouring boiling water over and letting rest for a while). I do think it’s the cinnamon sugar topping that makes the difference here.
I found this recipe via Google and they are just about done and smell wonderful cooling on my stovetop. I did reduce to 1 C sugar because I plan on frosting them with a pumpkin whoopie pie icing, and I also used about half wheat flour (used up what was left). I think these will taste even better than they smell!
(For whomever is curious, the filling is just a cream cheese icing with diced crystallized Ginger added at the end.)
Just made these muffins with a few alterations: I substituted 1 tsp cinnamon (because I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice) & put the mixture directly into well-sprayed muffin tin (because I didn’t have muffin cups). Can you say A-M-A-Z-I-N-G??? I could eat all 12 muffins right now!
Hello, love this recipe for muffins – can I make it as a bread?
Just made these, reduced the sugar to 1 cup as some others suggested. Another home run, loved ’em!
I’m not a big fan of cooking or baking anything, as it usually turns out wrong, even if I follow the recipe to a T. I tried these tonight with help from my 9 year old (the only thing that went wrong was it had 3.5 eggs, not 4, we did a double batch. One of the eggs she cracked went half in the bowl and half on the floor lol) But they turned out amazing, and I am completely in awe that *I* made these!! My husband loves them (he ate four already) thank you for such an easy recipe to follow! I threw in some chocolate chips for fun, but they would still taste fantastic without them.
These were a mid-day hit! Like others mentioned, my apartment smelled like a holiday candle (luckily an all-natural one) while these backed in the oven. I was excited that by substituting the eggs with Ener-G egg replacer, these were vegan muffins!! Of only all vegan baked goods could be so moist and soft! Used brown sugar with cinnamon on top just to use up what I had and will definitely try these again, maybe reducing sugar and possibly subbing apple sauce for oil to make a low-fat version! Thanks for this amazing recipe. It’s a keeper!!
I always keep a shaker of cinnamon & sugar handy (for French toast, cinnamon & sugar toast, etc.) so I grab that shaker whenever a recipe calls for a cinnamon/sugar topping. No measuring, no mixing.
These look so good! I just put them in the oven…except that I forgot the baking powder and didn’t read the recipe correctly and ended up stirring the cinnamon sugar directly into the batter. Maybe you could fix the recipe to mention stirring the baking powder into the flour? I hope my muffins rise!
This is a great recipe and made my house smell delicious. 1 cup sugar was plenty sweet and I only used 1/2 tbs sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon for the topping. Also, the only pumpkin I had was in the freezer from last fall’s pumpkin picking. I defrosted first and used 1 cup of this instead of the canned pumpkin. I used an electrical hand mixer to mix everything. Splendid.
Just made these for the kids for breakfast (I usually make breakfast food you can freeze so it’s easy to heat up quickly before the kids leave for school). These are amazing! I don’t keep pumpkin pie spice, but make my own mix, so that’s the only change I made. Wonderful and easy recipe, so glad I found it!
These are good, really easy (I hate baking), and dont require lugging out the standing mixer. Thank you! And dairy free! I put some candied diced ginger pieces on top with the cin sugar. Nice adult touch (but left the kiddie ones without).
Since tomorrow is ‘grocery shopping day’, I figured I’d pop around on some blogs and see what was out there. I love your ‘Surprise me!’ button, hence finding this older recipe.
So what if it’s summer huh? Pumpkin is good at an time of the year right?
Thanks for recipe and the insight, I will definitely have to give these a go!
I just made these muffins today and used pumpkin pie filling, and my own pumkin spice. And I have to say they are really nice (even though a couple caught a little at the bottom), if I do say so myself. Thanks for the recipe, these muffins are going to be added to my collection.
I made these muffins last night (with a few modifications) and they came out great!
The mods were:
1 1/2 cups home-made multigrain flour mixture (almond meal, spelt, whole wheat, and AP flour)
1/4 cup granulated maple sugar
2 tsp cinnamon/smoked bourbon brown sugar mixture (for topping the muffins)
3tbsp mini chocolate chips
2tbsp raisins (the big multi-colored ones)
I made the flour mixture on the fly, and at the last minute decided to add the raisins and chocolate chips. I gotta say, the pumpkin mixture with a bit of oil? Fantastic! It made for a great base, and mixed very well with the flour. I even had enough left over to make one mini loaf (after filling the muffin pan.)
I’m definitely making these again. Great recipe!! (As always) and I can’t wait to pick-up your new cook book ^_^
I’ve made these several times, usually following Joe (#39)’s spice mix. Today I again used “Joe’s spices,” but substituted 1/3c homemade applesauce for the oil, used half whole wheat pastry flour and half white flour and reduced the white sugar to just shy of 2/3c. They are fabulous and not in need of any additional fussing with the tops. Thanks to Deb and Joe!
Just tasted them. These are officially my favourite of your muffin recipes. I tried the blueberry and the whole meal apple ones (also delicious). I used 1 cup of sugar, half brown, half white and the same ratio for the flour. I roasted my own pumpkin because I live in Bangkok and while Libby’s is available in one shop I know of, it’s an imported luxury item :). I used a 1/2 kg wedge and it made exactly 1 cup. I used allspice instead of pumpkin spice (again, Bangkok) and it worked. I wonder if they’re the same thing?
Finally, this was a good recipe to do with a two-year old because the wet sticky pumpkin is less inclined to either splash or send clouds to the sky, so they can be trusted to stir. Thanks, it’s nice to turn up the air con and pretend its Autumn and not eternally hot.
Had a pumpkin craving this morning and found your recipe. Had to try it when I saw it was from the American Club {I’m from Kohler}! p.s. I used canned pumpkin pie mix and omitted the spices.
Perfect with our first pumpkin of Fall! I reduced the sugar to a heaping 1 cup and skipped the pie spices, used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white… and of course, used freshly roasted pumpkin, roughly measured. Simple and fast! The after school crowd will be the real judge.
And the kids love them!
Just made these and they are delicious!! A new fall favorite. :)
These were AMAZING!
Made a few modifications:
– spelt flour
– coconut oil
– used 3 medium eggs
– 1cup sugar total (half cane, half brown)
– added 1tsp vanilla
– skipped cinnamon sugar topping & topped with sunflower seeds on half, flaked coconut on the others
spices:
– 1tsp cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp ginger
– 1/4 tsp cloves
– 1/4 tsp nutmeg
– 1/4 tsp allspice
I still think sugar could decrease slightly to my taste, but loved them!! Thx…
I don’t see where to add baking powder in the directions — it’s listed under ingredients?
I just made these pumpkin muffins, they are delicious, I did substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin, thanks
You are my go to girl!
I’m so excited! I think these will be on the menu for my Halloween party in just over a wk. Plus it means I can use some of my homemade pumpkin purée! So excited
I love your blog – I can make your recipes for the first time and know they will turn out great! Just like these muffins – I made them last week for a my parents before heading off to a 4K walk for a charity. They were a success! Now I want to make them again this weekend as we visit our friends in Wisco – can this be turned into a pumpkin loaf without changes to the recipe? Please let me know. Thanks!
I just made a first run w/ these. Taste great, I made em mini, & used roasted pumpkin that I puréed……. Love em!
Super easy and really tasty. The cinnamon-sugar crunch on top was nice, and they were really tender and moist.
These are in the oven now – I used Penzey’s “Cake Spice” blend, which has allspice and star anise in addition to cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. The batter tastes amazing! Highly recommend the cake spice, BTW – it’s awesome in French toast and pancakes.
I’ve made these many times, exactly according to the recipe, and they are amazing. Yesterday, I made the following changes and they were just as moist and delicious:
3/4 cup oat flour and 3/4 cup brown rice flour (in place of AP)
1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup agave nectar (instead of the 1.25 cup of sugar).
I made them again with a Cinderella pumpkin. The pumpkin flavor didnt come through enough. It didnt quite matter though since I made them as mini muffins served with salted caramel frozen yogurt and a drizzle of maple caramel. Love!
Made these tonight and wooooowww they are good! Didn’t have pumpkin spice so just used cinnamon and nutmeg, made these vegan by using cornstarch/water egg substitute, and put butterscotch chips in half, which turned out delicious. YUM!
Best pumpkin muffins, so moist and delicious!! I did not have the pumpkin pie spice so I made my own blend of cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and added extra ginger powder to the mix. For the topping I minced crystalized ginger and walnuts, then added cinnamon, ginger powder and sugar. Delish!!
These muffins were fantastic and the best! Very moist,great texture and nice spice flavor. I doubled the pumpkin pie spice to 2 teaspoons and added 1/4 cup of lowfat buttermilk I used 1/2 c of light brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar instead of the 1 1/4 called for in recipe.
The main thing I did differently was to cook down the pumpkin with the pumpkin pie spice and salt until reduced to about 1.5 cups which concentrated the pumpkin flavor. I constantly stirred pumpkin mixture over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes. I let it rest a few minutes before combining other wet ingredients. That was a tip I learned from a recent Cook’s Illustrated pumpkin bread recipe which is the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. These muffins were the best ever as well.
I have top say that I love your recipes and was so excited that when I googled pumpkin muffins your post was the 1st on my list! Even though I bog about food for Edible South Shore (MA) magazine, I don’t know how these things work! Did you come up because smitten kitchen is already something I go to? Or do you come up 1st for everyone? Either way I’m delighted…and I bought this really delish maple cream from Nutting Farm in Vermont that would be just like icing to put on top.
Made these last night, added about a cup of mini chocolate chips (left off the cinnamon sugar topping). They are just great. The texture and flavor are perfect. I will try these with raisins next. Thank you for another wonderful recipe.
So delicious! Rainy day baking and the perfect time of year. Love the simplicity of the ingredients. I swapped half the sugar for brown sugar, and I do not regret it. Yum!
My three kids under age 6 are with my mom… So I can clean… But I am so making these instead. They will appreciate muffins more than a clean house anyway, right?
Since the eastern seaboard’s days are numbered I figured why enjoy some fresh baked muffins..while my power holds out. These were yummy. I replaced some of the white flour with whole wheat. I added some fresh grated ginger and orange rind and replaced some of the oil with greek yogurt. I topped some of the muffins with pecans, raisins, mini chocolate chips and cranberries.
I tried this recipe and LOVED it!!! I added craisins and made mini muffins, they are one of the best things I have ever made. The morning after when I woke up there was a pile of muffin cups on the table from my 3 year old…AMAZING recipe
Rainy cool evening. Making these for the second time. This time with walnuts and chocolate chips. Yes!!!! Love this recipe.
Can’t wait til breakfast!
Made these today with some variations: subbed whole wheat flour for half the white, subbed an extra half cup of pumpkin for half a cup of the sugar. Turned out great, super yummy and still plenty sweet for breakfast.
Love these muffins!!!! Really delicious.
See you on Wednesday in Montclair, Deb. Love the cookbook as I knew I would.
I’m wanting to try these! I love pumpkin, especially in the fall and winter. :) I was wondering if anyone made these with butter in place of the oil and if they turned out okay?
I know this is an old recipe, but I’m making it now and think you’re missing the step where the flour and baking powder are combined before stirring into the wet mixture.
I love this recipe. Muffins are moist and pumkin taste is great. I chop up dark chocolate bars and add about 7 or 8 of these miniture hershey dark chocolate bars and they make this recipe soar. MMM
I’m going to make these for my party
I liked your recipe, I used whole wheat flour for all the flour and Trivia for the sugar. Delicious!
It would be nice if someone in your website development area could set up the website so that when we try to print the recipe, it doesn’t print out the entire blog along with it. It’s nice to read, but I don’t really want to print out over 43 pages of people’s commentary. Any suggestions?
Margaret — There’s a “Print” link at the bottom of the each post that will take you to a print template. It’s at the bottom of the recipe, before the ad and comments begin.
I accidentally left out the eggs, and they turned out amazing! New favorite muffin recipe!
These muffins really are fool-proof! I made them last night, but I altered the recipe to suit my needs: I use half W/W flour and half all-purpose, halved the sugar, added two tablespoons of maple syrup, used half walnut oil (it was the only oil I had…) and half applesauce, and used flax eggs instead of the real thing. I actually forgot the baking powder, but they still turned out (perhaps a little more dense than they otherwise would have been). I topped them with a maple streusel topping that got nice and crunchy :) Good recipe, even though I managed to just barely follow it!
These are awesome! My son who’s three loves them. I mean he’s obsessed. The only thing I realized that you list baking powder in ingredients but not in the actual directions. I’m a fan!
I, too, started the recipe only to discover that I am missing essentials.I have no white flour, so I used whole wheat. Instead of pumpkin pie spice (tragically empty) I threw in some random amount of cinnamon and some other spice that Google said is in pie spice. Oh and apparently someone ate eggs today because I only had 2 which would have been fine except I had tripled the other ingredients since I am baking for moms group in the morning. Oh well… They are in the oven now.
Pretty good :)
I made these yum! I brought some to an old(99) ladie she loved them! I put 1 3/4 cup pumpkin in stead of 1 cup ( by accident) I nearly burn’t my tongue eating the first one:)
I LOVED these muffins. Super light, moist, and delicious. I changed just a couple things: used 1 c. unbleached a-p flour, 1/2 almond meal, only 3/4 c. sugar (brown), had no pie spice so used cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg – a LOT! – and added 1 tsp. vanilla. This will now replace my old favorite pumpkin muffin recipe! Thanks!
Insanely good! I could’ve eaten the whole batch. I followed your accidental uses (less oil and less sugar) and didn’t miss either.
Just thought I would let people know that this works really well if you substitute the pumpkin for a different fruit or vegetable. I’ve use apple, carrots, purple carrots and tinned beetroot to make lunch box snacks for my kids. I just alter the spices to suit the flavor and almost always reduce the sugar.
I made these last night, they were absolutely marvelous! The last muffin was gone within an hour of my boyfriend waking up. I’m already preparing to make more tonight, since the can of pumpkin puree supplied waaaay more than what the recipe calls for. This is the first recipe I tried from Smitten Kitchen, and I absolutely loved it :D We are pumpkin fiends in this home, and look forward to more spiced pumpkin recipes. Cheers!
Can I pretend these are healthy and eat them all the time? Yum. I only used the 1/3 cup of oil, but I did use 1 cup of sugar and thought they were marvelous. I didn’t even use all the sugar topping. Of course, I wasn’t looking for something very sweet – still, my sweet tooth is strong. ALSO – I totally forgot the eggs until I mixed all the flour in, so I probably over mixed it a ton, since it was so thick. Still delicious.
I still make these. So easy, so yummy. Thanks for this go-to recipe!
Just made the muffins with cream cheese frosting. I can’t stop eating them!!!
Great recipe, thank you!
Here were are….almost in Oct 2013, almost 7!!! years after your initial post. These are fantastic and forgiving. Just made a double batch for National Good Neighbor Day and gave ’em out all over the ‘hood. Everyone loved them. Thanks for all the great recipes over the years Deb!
I make these every year–super easy and delicious!
So I do see that I’m not the first one to mention a few of these things, but here goes anyway: you ask for baking powder in the ingredients list and baking soda in the method. The ingredients list starts w/ the dry ingredients, but the method hops ahead to the wet and then gets to the “flour mixture,” but you never asked us to mix any of the dry ingredients. There’s also no yield (I got 15 muffins). All this said, I did blast ahead and make these muffins: they were easy and cute and tasty, and they were just what I was looking for to use up that leftover cup of pumpkin puree in my fridge. But why not correct the goofs so that future bakers won’t worry, as I did, about how these muffins would turn out?
The recipe is somewhat fixed now (I must have missed the earlier comments) so that it matches the original. However, I agree that the ingredient order is weird. I’m making these this week and will hopefully update with an adjustment that is closer to regular muffin recipes (all dry + all wet, etc.)
I just made this recipe but was definitely confused about the baking powder/baking soda issue. I ended up using a tsp of both because that’s what I thought I remembered using before. They came out ok. But I use this recipe regularly for my kids so I would love clarification. Thanks!
I made these tonight they got a thumbs up from fussy teens!
If you look up this recipe, you’ll find it on other sites as well. The clarification is that you use 1 tsp. baking powder with the flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda with the wet ingredients.
I made this yesterday as a bread rather than muffins. I played with the recipe a bit: I used olive oil, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup unbleached AP, 1/2 cup brown sugar and just shy of 1/2 cup white sugar. Doubled the spices (but didn’t use the topping). Added in about a cup of shredded carrot (to perpetuate the feeling that this is healthy! I’m eating vegetables!), and I added about 1/3 cup of raisins. Delicious! Very moist and a big hit with the family. I might up the amount of pumpkin next time–I wish there were a richer flavor. But maybe the pumpkin I cooked and pureed wasn’t super flavorful to begin with. I don’t know how they’re supposed to taste; I’ve never made my own puree before. Anyway, thank you for the recipe! I anticipate many more loaves!
Deb,
In the instructions it says to add baking soda but you don’t have baking soda listed in the ingredients.
Yikes, so sorry. I’d started properly editing this (see comment #232) and didn’t finish. Now fixed. Plus a new note: THIS IS SO GOOD WITH SWEET POTATOES INSTEAD. (Sorry so shouty. Wait, no I’m not.) It was so delicious when I made them last week, I’ve been eager to do a new post just on that, but it feels redundant. Anyway, I used 1 1/3 cups sweet potato instead of 1. This note added now too.
This looks like a great recipe. My children love all things pumpkin. Could this be baked as a bread? Thank you.
I haven’t made this as a loaf but it looks like Lindsay in #112 did.
I cut back the sugar to 3/4 cup and used whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the flour. Turned out lovely!
Go figure that I wanted to make pumpkin something for breakfast this morning and I thought “maybe there’s something on smittenkitchen” and here you have a delicious pumpkin muffin recipe. I mean, really. Delish. I substituted applesauce for the eggs and oil and doubled the spices … I really, really, really, love the fall trifecta of cinnamon, ginger, cloves … but as always, the recipe was easy peasy and a crowd pleaser.
MMMMM SO GOOD
ive been on a muffin kick for weeks now and after the pumpkin fell out of my freezer last night i thought lets make these so glad i did i used
2 cups pumpkin
3/4 cups brown sugar
1cup flour
1 1/2 cup oat flour with flax
1/2 cup choc chips
added pumpkin seeds about 1/2 cup in batter and a few on top with the sugar mix
and made greek yogurt cream cheese frosting sore of like sour cream frosting but with out the extra fat
Hi Deb,
Hungry grad student here, and I quickly picked up on the sweet potato switch. Just to clarify, did you simply swap the sweet potato with the pumpkin puree and keep everything else the same?
Michelle — Actually, and I think I mentioned this up top, I added more. It’s not that it needs it, it’s just that I’ve found you can go over the amount of pumpkin suggested here and the recipe is even better for it. Ditto with the sweet potato.
Hi Deb,
Quick question, is the sweet potato in addition to the pumpkin, or does it replace it?
I added it and will know how it turns out shortly.
Hi to Alex for me!
Ian — Replacement. Will do!
These were sooooo yummy!!! I used coconut oil for the oil and used white whole wheat flour! I made them mini and my kids love them!
Hi Deb, I just wanted to let you know that I tried your recipe the other day and it produced the best pumpkin muffin I’ve had, at least for my tastes! I adjusted a couple of things but the base is the same (I posted about it here and linked back to this page http://liquidyolk.com/2013/11/14/r-r-pumpkin-muffins-with-chocolate-plus-2-new-teas/ ) . Thanks for ever-reliable recipes.
This recipe is one of my fall favorites! I keep coming back to it year after year
Lobbed on 1/2 teaspoon of whipped neufchâtel cheese after pouring into tins but before sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar. Deliciousness.
Just made this – actually my 13 year old did, I was just her kitchen assistant – they turned out great! I think these will be out go-to pumpkin muffin recipe here on in.
This recipe is fantastic! This is my go to recipe for my son’s weekday breakfasts or snacks. I add ground flax seed and use a bit less sugar/oil, and they turn out so well.
Hello! Just want you to know I love your blog!! I’ve made lots of your savory dishes over the years and now that I live in a house that has an oven equipped with a working temperature gauge I have recently begun trying my hand at baking! Your recipes always have just enough instruction for me to feel confident that I’m doing it right (or wrong) so thank you so much for that! I’ve made these twice now and they are delicious, I just added a handful of finely chopped cherries (defrosted from my freezer) which are a yummy and pretty addition.
Made the pumpkin version of these a few days ago without changing a thing -they’re perfect. They were delicious right out of the oven, delicious the next day, and they probably would have been delicious today too but they didn’t last that long. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I have made several batches of the pumpkin muffins!! They are DELISH!! I did use allspice instead of pumpkin spice. (only because I accidentally bought that instead) I also used homemade pumpkin puree,(several ziplock bags of 1 cup and 2 cup servings, in my freezer) I was determined to use the whole pumpkin, and bought more after Halloween :-) !! Thanks for the amazing recipe. Happy Turkey Day…gobble gobble
I am happy with this recipe! I made pumpkin muffins tonight. The only thing I did differently was substitute about 4 tablespoons of brown sugar because I ran out of white sugar.
Great recipe. Thanks!
Just made this recipe with butternut squash. OMG, deeelish! Will be making another batch (or 2 to freeze). Thank you!
Greetings, we just made these pumpkin muffins this afternoon and they came out great! We added about 1/3 cup or so of rolled quick oats, and a good handful of dark raisins to the mix, and used both a tin of pumpkin as well as our own freshly puréed baking pumpkin. Chose to not use the paper liners as well, all turned out very well!
I was in the mood to bake last night, but the cupboards were kind of bare save for several cans of pumpkin leftover from the holidays.
I found this recipe googling around, but I had to make some alterations due to lack of ingredients, so in the interest of science, I wanted to report my findings about this recipe…
I didn’t have any neutral oil, so I used olive oil.
I only had one egg, so I used one egg and increased the amount of pumpkin to a whole can.
I was running low on all-purpose flour, so I subbed in a half cup of whole wheat flour.
I added raisins and pecans.
I did not do the cinnamon-sugar thing on the top, just because I didn’t notice that part of the recipe until they were already in the oven, hahaha.
The muffins turned out great! They are a teeny bit more dense than a typical muffin, but not too bad, and they are a teeny bit sticky. Muffins tend to last a few days at my house since there are only two of us, so moist muffins are always good!
Thanks for the recipe!
This morning I made this for the second time and both times were fantastic. I am currently living in Africa, so I don’t have pumpkin but a similar orange squash has been sufficient. Thanks.
Inspired by your pear hazelnut muffins but lacking the key ingredients, I pulled some of my pureed pumpkin out of the freezer and made these today. Homemade puree is more watery than canned pumpkin (at least mine is) so I had to make a few adjustments, but nothing major. They are amazing, and this will be my go-to recipe from now on. Thank you!
Made this muffin recipe for the first time ever. Outstanding! Light and moist. I loves them!
Made these twice in week! My kids loved them! We added a cup of chocolate chips to the batter and called them dessert!
YUM! I used about 1/2 cup white flour, maybe 3/4 cup whole wheat, and 1/4 oat flour. They’re great!
I have made a few different pumpkin muffin recipes this week. This morning, I tried your recipe. They turned out very well! The cinnamon sugar on top is such a great idea. I used whole wheat pastry flour from Bob’s Reed Mill, 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar and added a peeled, chopped pear, raisins and walnuts. I enjoyed the texture of these muffins!
Just made these this afternoon for an after school snack. I used 1/2 ww flour and 1/2 ap flour; used coconut oil and 1 cup coconut sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. They are moist, perfectly sweet and a big hit. I did make a little batch of cream cheese frosting to dollop on top—not needed but puts them right over the top!
Baked these this morning with one can of Trader Joe’s organic pumpkin puree and it made 15 muffins- which I’m not complaining about. Kids loved them! Another great SK recipe. Thank you!
I loved these! I can’t do much glutten and no sugar, so I used spelt flour (does contain less gluten) 1 cup brown spelt and 1/2 cup white spelt. Then I used about 3/4 c agave and about 1/3 c honey. So good and very moist! I’ll make them again for sure.
Thank you for this. I made a couple adjustments. Not major, but they still came out delicious and were a big hit. I put less sugar by substituting the 1 and 1/4 cup sugar with 1 cup of brown sugar. I added pecans on top in addition to the sprinkled cinnamon and sugar. I used the Trader Joe’s organic canned pumpkin. It can see from what people wrote that they can be made even healthier. I’m so glad to have this recipe.
In the batter, instead of 1 1/4 c white sugar, I used 1/2 cup brown and 3/4 cup white. I added about a tablespoon of maple syrup when I blended the eggs and oil. I went with the extra 1/3 cup pumpkin she suggests. I added about 1/3 cup chopped pecans, which I had heated in the toaster oven just a bit, while blending the flour and oil/egg/syrup mixtures, blending everything by hand with a rubber spatula.
For the topping, I substituted brown sugar for the 1T white sugar, plus I added about a half teaspoon Turbinado sugar to give it some crunch.
The recipe filled 12 muffin cups more than 3/4 each.
They turned out really well, with a relatively strong spice aftertaste. They were done in 25 minutes. I will make this recipe again, possibly cutting back on some of the spice.
Doubled the recipe, and did 1/3 whole wheat flour, 1/3 all-purpose white flour, and 1/3 quick oat.
I also diced in little apple cubes, and reduced the sugar to ~80%.
I then divided the batter into 12 muffins and a loaf.
The result was perfect for both – so autumn-y, so wholesomely rich, so moist and delicious.
I thought perhaps I could cup down the sugar a bit more, and also add some seeds, like chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds for nuttiness. Also considered adding a bit of vanila extract next time.
Overall an excellent recipe, as always. Thank you.
Delicious! I made a few substitutions after reading the comments that worked very well. I used a baking pumpkin from Trader Joes, which made the perfect amount of puree. For the flour I mixed: 3/4 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup almond meal and 1/4 cup sorghum flour. For the sugar I used 1/2 cup of Truvia and 2 tbs of maple syrup. Make sure to check them early- mine were done in about 22 minutes.
I made these gluten-free for a friend with TJs GF flour blend, and got my hands on some TJs pumpkin cream cheese and threw a dollop in the middle. I also subbed about 2 tbsp of maple syrup for the last 1/4 cup of sugar. They turned out beautifully. Thank you for all your terrific recipes, Deb, I’m yet to find one that isn’t an absolute keeper!
I haven’t read ALL the comments, so I may be repeating one, but…. These are great! (said countless times), AND they work well even as mini-muffins, baked 15 minutes, and also work fine without the muffin papers, just greased muffin pan. I was afraid they might stick, especially with cinnamon sugar sneaking down between the batter and the cup, but they definitely came right out.
Made this with my toddler today. Used 1 cup whole and rest appt flour. Also did 3/4 cup sugar. Baked them in mini form to reduce waste. She and the husband loved them! Thank for sharing. I will be saving for future use. Thanks!
I made these lovelies yesterday. I doubled the batch and used half pastry flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. I also added a teaspoon of vanilla and chose to use coconut oil. They are so delightfully fluffy and incredibly delicious! The only thing I’d change next time is reducing the sugar. They are VERY sweet! Thank you for this keeper!
I basically used this recipe as a template, but made them much healthier. I didn’t use white flour at all, but used 1 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup of ground flax seed. I also used only half cup of sugar, and made it brown sugar because it was all that I had. I did not put sugar on top. They were amazing!
I made these as written, and they were scarfed up. Incredibly moist, and it’s true, they were better the 2nd day. They taste like pumpkin pie in muffin form. I might cut the sugar a bit next time, but only as a whim.
Made these muffins yesterday and they were perfect- especially with additional tablespoon or two of pumpkin purée. However I now need your help Deb. We still have a 1/2 c of purée patiently waiting in the fridge. I would love to use it to make pumpkin sugar cookies, as we bought a fox cookie cutter that would make adorable orangey- colored cookies. Do you have a recipe?
Kristina — I haven’t, but I am sure someone on the web has. I haven’t had a ton of luck putting soft, fibrousy fruits and vegetables in cookies, personally, though; I find it makes them soft in a stale way, not crispy-chewy (or not for more than a little while after they come out of the oven). If you have good luck with a recipe, do tell me!
Thank you for this. I have a wonderful pumpkin muffin recipe but it uses candied ginger — I LOVE it, but my husband doesn’t, so I hate making them if I’m the only one eating them. I think this one will go down with him much easier. Can’t wait to try it.
I can’t wait to try these with sweet potatoes! Thanks, Deb!
Could I sub maple syrup for sugar?
So happy you posted this. Was trying to figure out what I wanted to make with an open can of pumpkin. These sound perfect and I will be sending a care package of them to my niece at college!
These are the best muffins ever. And the 1 1/3 c pumpkin makes them even better. Thank you, Deb!
Doubled this for the kids election day bake sale today. Dialed back the sugar a bit and went for the larger amount of pumpkin puree – a huge hit – thank you again!
These are just delicious! I used a gluten-free flour blend (from Roberts’ Gluten-Free Baking Classics) but didn’t change anything else. Beautiful delicate crispness of the top is wonderful. Next time I’ll add some toasted pecan pieces and cruising. thanks for another winner.
Craisins = cruising? really?
Delicious! I added dried cranberries (that I plumped in hot water) and pecans–about 1/2 cup each. Fabulous!!!
I’ve made these twice and they are amazing! The first time I made them as written, the second time I used brown sugar in place of white (I was out of white). They were delicious both ways- well spiced, tender, and moist.
Just made these and just ate 2 :) Used half AP flour half whole wheat flour. Only used half cup of sugar, which was a mix of white sugar and sugar in the raw. Didn’t do the cinnamon sugar topping. Added spices individually as listed in the ingredient list. Had a can of leftover pumpkin that was not quite 1 cup but the muffins still came out pretty moist. Looking forward to making these again!
I made a double batch of these last week but used cream cheese frosting to top. Let’s just say they are hooked and have requested them again for this week. I shared the link to your recipe to them all! Thank you!
I would like to report that these were not harmed by a last minute swap of half barley flour since I ran out of white flour, the addition of about 3 ounces of chopped up semisweet chocolate to the dry ingredients before stirring in, or having to pull them from the oven 2 minutes into the bake to sprinkle on the forgotten cinnamon sugar. Really delicious and beautiful texture.
I just want to say I’m made this recipe 4-5 times now and it’s one of our favourites. Such a simple and reliable recipe. I often use 1/2 can of pumpkin for a pumpkin pasta recipe that I love and then the leftover pumpkin goes to muffins. Great recipe Deb, thank you!
These came out great! I used the larger amount of pumpkin and a little more than a cup of sugar, and I topped them with white sparkling sugar crystals. My yield was 12 regular and six mini muffins. Happy Autumn!
I doubled the recipe and put the batter in a half sheet pan to make bars. It worked perfectly, and everyone loved them! They were done at 25 minutes. I also added chocolate chips since I like my pumpkin bread that way. My cans of pumpkin purée were closer to 1.5 cups each but it came out fine without any extra flour.
I just made these and they are so delicious. I wanted to report my variations:
– I used the whole 15 oz. can of pumpkin (so more like 1.5 C.) and did not adjust the flour — they baked up beautifully.
– used all white whole wheat flour
– used the full 1.25 C of sugar because of the extra pumpkin. They are perfectly just sweet, not too much so. (Also — used turbinado sugar)
– doubled the spices
– used coconut oil
Made 12 large muffins. I didn’t use muffin liners (should have been more liberal with the spray, these muffins want to stick!) and they baked up perfectly in 25 minutes.
Super moist and flavorful! I subbed 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, used the whole 15oz can of pumpkin, and added 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Made 12 good sized muffins. Yum!
Hi! Love your recipes! Wanted to try these muffins but can’t find canned pumpkin here. If I use fresh pumpkin can I cook it instead of baking/roasting it? (I know you lose some nutrients like that but I’ll use the liquid for soup afterwards). Thanks!
Made these today and they are already being scarfed down at a rapid pace.
I altered the topping to a crumb topping, but otherwise followed all of Deb’s wisdom. The crumb topping is really delicious — equal parts brown sugar, flour and butter (1/4 cup) blended with a pastry blender and sprinkled on top before baking.
These are divine, though. My 2.5-year-old loved making them and eating them. Thanks so much Deb!!!
delicious muffins, tender and somewhat caramel-y and freeze well. our little ones love them too.
BEST pumpkin muffin recipe of all I’ve tried! Thank you!!!! I did slather them with a little unsalted European butter as we ate half of them right out of the oven!!! 🤗
If i wanted to add oatmeal (say 1 cup) to this to make it more hearty, what would I need to adjust? Thanks!
Just made these – they are perfection, absolutely mouth watering! My notes: I only had self-raising flour so I omitted the baking powder. I used olive oil for the oil component, 1 cup homemade pumpkin puree, and baked for 30 mins in a 175°C oven on fan-bake. SO moist yet fluffy and light. Thank you Deb for yet again a flawless recipe!
Just to confirm, you add the sweet potato AND the canned pumpkin?
Thank you!!
Either works. I rarely use both at once.
These are always delicious, but yesterday was the first time I made them the day before I needed them. Putting them in an airtight container did them no favors. The tops were wet and spongy. I would suggest changing the storage method in order to keep the tops as glorious as they are when they come out of the oven.
Need to make a lot of mini muffins … any suggestion for amount of baking time?
Why 3 stars? They are great. Of course I had nobody to share with and well,….
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Made these following the recipe exactly and weighing ingredients. They were very sweet. Although the spices were all fresh, they were barely detectable. Even a Thanksgiving crowd with 4 kids didn’t go for them. I might try them again using only a cup of sugar and a big bump in spice.
I’ve been making these for years, but I was wondering how this recipe would translate from cupcakes to a 9×13 cake. Any adjustments or tips I should consider? I’m planning to top it with the same vanilla cream cheese frosting I’ve been serving with the muffins for years. Thanks!
These turned out great! I doubled the spices (essential! Though I wasn’t using fresh nutmeg) used nearly all of the can of pumpkin, and used 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup wheat flour. I had about two muffins’ worth of extra batter.
Made these today, used Spelt flour instead of wheat and maple syrup instead of sugar, turned out delicious!! Thank you for such a great recipe <3
I just made these. They turned out really well! I added walnuts, doubled the spices, dropped the sugar to 3/4 cup, and baked in mini muffin tins. The texture was perfect. I felt that they could use even a bit more spice, though the problem may have been that my spices are too old. This will be my go-to pumpkin muffin recipe from now on :)
I have been making these for years, and this recipe has never failed me despite some occasional swaps when I feed them to my toddlers! I use applesauce instead of oil. I cut the sugar in half. I use whole wheat flour. I don’t use the cinnamon/sugar topping. I’ve even swapped shredded apple for the pumpkin to make cinnamon apple muffins! The other toddlers at play dates bribe my kids with their animal crackers and fruit snacks for a bite of these “treats”.
Fun fact: I made the pumpkin version with cream cheese frosting and the apple version with caramel frosting for my October baby’s first birthday. Nobody had any idea they were healthy muffins and not cupcakes!
Fun fact #2: If you let the batter rest 20-30 minutes before scooping into the tins, they get the most beautiful domed top.
I wanted to use the whole can of pumpkin so used 1.5x the rest of the ingredients… well, except for oil, because I COMPLETELY FORGOT to put ANY oil in. They were a bit less moist than they would have been but they were plenty edible. The cinnamon sugar lid was helpful in making them yummy :)
Made these with the sweet potato variation. I also drastically reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. The batter was thick but baked up beautifully! Seriously loved the warm spices in the muffins!
The texture of these muffins is incredible! I reduced the sugar to 1 cup, put melted butter instead of oil (only had olive oil) and nixed the topping (a big mistake, I believe!). Delicious!
These are my go-to muffins for almost any occasion, but especially for giving as gifts to friends going through rough patches. They are a hug in muffin form. I use sweet potatoes and have pushed the potatao content as high as 2 cups. Everyone always raves about them. I give them a link to your post when they ask for the recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us all.
Hi there what exact brand ingredients did you use? I made these 2 times and they were delicious. It’s been a while and I didn’t use the greatest ingredients this time. Please share the brand’s you use I really love these muffins.
Thank you in advance.
Z :)
I usually use Libby’s canned pumpkin, nothing fancy.
Love these muffins. Easily vegan-adaptable, I just sub 2 flax eggs and they still turn out fantastic. I’ve also made with olive oil (still great), and subbed some apple sauce for the sugar (not AS good as full sugar but still very yummy). In short, this recipe is very forgiving and so so good. Also highly recommend using fresh grated nutmeg – it really shines here!
I had some rhubarb lying around and threw it in to these muffins on a whim. I think they would have been delicious without – but surprisingly it was an amazing combination! Maybe next time I’ll throw some of the streusel from your rhubarb-streusel muffin recipe on top :P
I made these a few days ago and they are delicious. We have a B&B and this recipe has gone to the top of my list for breakfast….
My left over pumpkin, I freeze and it measures out perfectly for my next batch!
Hi Deb, i make this recipe every year w homemade puree of sugar pumpkin or butter nut, i’ve used between 320-400g of puree and all of these gave delicious muffins, varying in moisture level. Do you go by volume when using homemade puree? You indicate 1.3 cups from a 15 oz can, i assume you do not use the whole can as this would be nearly 2 cups?
I’d go by volume. And I’d assess how the homemade puree compares; sometimes they’re more dry (maybe use a little less) or a little wet. I’d say the cans are on the wet side for roasted squash.
Hi Do u know whether I can substitute half of the flour with almond flour? Thanks
Thank you for this recipe! We had more time to garden this year but didn’t buy any new seeds. We ended up with so many winter squash, especially “New England Long Pie” squash which look like fat overgrown zucchini that then turn orange as they age. We’ve been baking these up in a double batch and sharing, especially with my fellow teachers. We have found 2/3c sugar to be enough , with the spices doubled. I’m out of turbinado, but I’m looking forward that on top with the cinnamon since we love it so much on your zucchini bread recipe. I’ve also been using a blend of an Indian whole wheat flour (I think it is what is usually used for roti?) and almond meal. They really are delicate, delicious muffins. Thank you!
Made them this morning, as mini-muffins cause my littles prefer them & with a touch less sugar (so I’m not peeling them of the ceiling all day) and they are SO DELICIOUS. Thanks <3
Excellent recipe. I doubled it using 2 full cans of pumpkin (15oz) about 1 3/4 cup sugar and twice or triple the spices. It made 24 regular muffins and a medium loaf pan. my go to recipe.
I just made these substituting in 1/2 c whole wheat flour for the AP flour, a bit more than 1 cup pumpkin, canola oil, plus added 2 Tsp maple syrup to the wet ingredients. Terrific! I ended up with 9 perfect muffins.
I’ve made these many times and my family loves them. Any thoughts on scaling up the recipe to use the full can of pumpkin? I always have pumpkin leftover after making this recipe and don’t know what to do with it! More muffins would be a great use!
You should make the pumpkin bread — it uses the whole can. Makes more than 12 muffins though.
I love these muffins. I can’t be bothered to measure out pumpkin purée and just use the whole can and it works fine for me, I just boost the spices, and since I have a little bit more than 12 muffins worth of batter I just put the extra in a little silicone tart pan. Very forgiving recipe.
Made a double batch of these yesterday to share at work and everyone loved them! The flavor and texture are great, and the cinnamon sugar crackle on top is perfect. For my personal taste they are a little sweet, has anyone tried using less sugar in the batter?
So good! I used the “sprinkle flour & dry ingredients on top of the wet” technique from Ultimate Banana Bread to make this a one-bowl recipe. I bet Turbinao sugar would work great for the cinnamon sugar, will use that next time! Used a mini muffin tin which needed about 20 minutes of baking time.
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. My daughter is the *hardest* kid I’ve ever had to make lunches for. We used to have a hot lunch program at her school but we moved to our cottage at the beginning of the pandemic and her wonderful school doesn’t have one!
She won’t eat sandwiches, and leftovers have been a complete fail *but* she WILL eat these with about an inch of barely sweetened whipped cream cheese on top.
She’ll also eat them for breakfast (nearly as big a coup!), after school and before bed.
He friends are jealous and the lunch monitor thinks I’m feeding my child cupcakes for lunch every day but I don’t care! At least she’s eating!!!
I am all about adding “secret” ingredients to recipes that give an unexpected twist to the flavor. For these excellent muffins, that would be shredded coconut, about 1/2 to taste. Of course you can also add chocolate chips, 1/2 cup works well here too, but there are more obvious. Or you can add both :-)
I made these as directed and added currents to the batter, and pecans to the cinnamon topping. They turned out super delicious with a wonderful texture especially since I thought I had undercooked them. But, they don’t taste very pumpkiny. I used an organic brand of pumpkin from the co-op but will try Libby’s next time. It makes me wonder what makes pumpkin foods taste…pumpkiny. Is it the spices or the vegetable? I will definitely double the spices next time and use the whole can of pumpkin. Also, I agree with the comment that overnight the muffins became very soggy and wet. Hasn’t stopped me from eating three for breakfast!
Have these baking now-made as written with the exception of doubling the spice and topping with a streusel mix of brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon and toasted pecans. If the batter itself is any indication these are going to very tasty and just the warming ticket on this chilly (9 degrees) afternoon.
A P.S. to my previous post, let these cool for as long as I could stand and had to try one (quality control people!). Very tasty, glad I upped the spices and added the pecans to the topping for taste / texture contrast. Will most definitely make these again but will add diced apple next time-just because. Thanks again SK!!!
Love these muffins but I wish it made a bit more as I can only get 11 muffins out of it. Maybe my muffin tins are a bit larger? Oh well – still delicious!
I got 11 muffins, too, but I know my muffin baking cups (which have Halloween designs) are slightly larger than regular muffin tins. I topped the batter with Halloween sprinkles and they are so festive. Delicious treats!
I made these this morning with KA GF Measure for measure flour and it came out really well. I doubled the spices as that was the prevailing advice and they came out delicious. In lieu of granulated, I used turbinado sugar for the crunchy topping and it was a welcome mod. I’m new to the GF baking scene and the sub seemed imperceptible. Thanks Deb for another winner. xx
I got 11 muffins, too, but I know my muffin baking cups (which have Halloween designs) are slightly larger than regular muffin tins. I topped the batter with Halloween sprinkles and they are so festive. Delicious treats!
Very delicious! Followed recipe as written. Very flavorful, light and fluffy. I live at 8100’ elevation- I did not adjust the recipe for high altitude, but only cooked 20 minutes and they came out perfectly.