Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Streusel for Easier Mornings
Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Streusel are soft, warmly spiced, and capped with a crumbly brown sugar topping that makes them feel bakery-ish without needing a mixer.
Equipment
- Standard muffin pan
- Paper liners
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Small bowl
- Fork
- Medium Bowl
- Large bowl
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Wire rack
- Toothpick
Ingredients
For the streusel
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 45 g; dry base for the crumb topping
- 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 38 g
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 13 g
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 pinch fine salt skip if using salted butter
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 42 g, melted and slightly cooled; salted butter works if salt is skipped
For the muffins
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125 g, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 large egg at room temperature if possible
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée 115 g, plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling; blot if watery
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 67 g
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 25 g
- 1/4 cup neutral oil 60 ml, such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons milk 30 ml; whole milk, 2 percent, or oat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven and prep the pan. Set the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line 6 cups of a standard muffin pan with paper liners, or grease them well. Leave the other cups empty. If your pan is very lightweight, set it on a rimmed baking sheet so it’s easier to move in and out of the oven.
- Make the streusel first. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and mix with a fork until you have damp crumbs, with some pea-size clumps and some sandy bits. It shouldn’t look like paste. If it does, sprinkle in another teaspoon of flour and rough it up with the fork.
- Chill the topping while you mix the batter. Ten minutes in the fridge helps the crumbs hold their shape instead of melting into a sugary lid.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Spend a few extra seconds here so the leavening doesn’t clump in one muffin.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a larger bowl, whisk the egg, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla until glossy and even. The mixture should look loose but not watery.
- Combine gently. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until the flour disappears. Stop there. Don’t beat the batter; a few tiny lumps are fine, but dry flour streaks aren’t.
- Fill the muffin cups. Divide the batter among the 6 prepared cups. They’ll be almost full, which gives you a nice rounded top. Use a large cookie scoop or two spoons.
- Add the streusel. Spoon the chilled crumbs over the batter, using all of them. Gently press the topping once with your fingertips so it grabs onto the batter. Don’t pack it down hard, or you’ll get a dense cap instead of crumbs.
- Bake hot, then lower the heat. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 13 to 16 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Start checking at 13 minutes after the temperature drop if your oven runs hot, especially with a dark muffin pan.
- Cool before eating if you can stand it. Let the muffins sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack. The streusel firms as it cools, and the pumpkin crumb settles from steamy to soft.
Nutrition
Calories: 355kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 4.5gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4.5gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 230mgPotassium: 135mgFiber: 2gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 1650IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 2mg
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