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This easy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe is made with canned pumpkin to create a flavorful and moist muffin. Make them as either bakery-style jumbo muffins or standard sized muffins. And don’t skip on the maple cinnamon butter!
These are the BEST from scratch bakery-style pumpkin muffins. Whether you want a jumbo muffin or a standard sized muffin, these will give you tall, craggy muffin tops covered in crunchy turbinado sugar. Using canned pumpkin, this recipe couldn’t be easier to throw together. Feel free to chill the batter overnight and bake them off for fresh, hot muffins the next morning!
Pumpkin Muffin Ingredients
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking soda. This helps the muffins rise and is activated when combined with the sour cream.
- Baking powder. This also helps the muffins to rise and is activated when combined with liquid.
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. For a touch of warm spice!
- Granulated sugar.
- Light brown sugar. This helps with better depth of flavor.
- Unsalted butter. Melted and slightly cooled.
- Vegetable oil. Canola oil can also be used here.
- Vanilla paste or extract.
- Large egg. Room temperature.
- Sour cream. Room temperature, and be sure to use full-fat sour cream. You could also make these pumpkin muffins with full fat greek yogurt.
- Pure pumpkin puree. This recipe uses one full can (15oz) of pumpkin puree.
- Turbinado sugar. Don’t skip this! You can also use Demerara sugar.
There is also the option of making a quick maple cinnamon butter to swipe over the warm muffins and it’s SO good!
- Salted butter. Yes, salted! It adds some nice extra flavor. Also, softened.
- Pure maple syrup. Just two tablespoons!
- Ground cinnamon.
Step-by-step instructions
Before beginning, be sure that your egg and sour cream are at room temperature. To make this happen quickly, place an egg (in the shell) in hot water for 5 minutes. You can microwave the measured amount of sour cream for about 15 seconds & stir.
1. Start by whisking together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the granulated and brown sugar, melted butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, egg and sour cream until combined.
3. Fold in the pumpkin puree using a rubber spatula until combined. Then, make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and fold until just combined and the flour is no longer visible.
Be sure to get the whole way to the bottom multiple times (the flour falls to the bottom). Do not over mix, as it can lead to tough muffins.
4. Cover the bowl and batter and refrigerate for 1 hour. This step is optional, but it does help with getting a better rise on the muffins.
5. Preheat the oven to 425℉/218℃ and line either a 12-cup muffin tin or a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin with liners. I like to use tulip liners so you can use them for either (you just spread them out a bit for jumbos)! You could also omit completely and spray each well with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Scoop the batter evenly between the wells, then top with a generous amount of turbinado sugar. It should fully cover the top.
7. Bake for 5 minutes at 425℉/218℃, then reduce to 400℉/204℃ and continue baking until done. See the instructions below for jumbo vs. regular.
8. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling (though I like to eat them warm!).
Jumbo pumpkin muffins
If making the pumpkin muffin recipe in a jumbo muffin tin, spread the tulip liners with your fingers and push them into the edges before filling and topping with sugar. Don’t have liners? Check out my DIY Muffin Liners video!
The jumbo muffins will need to be baked for an additional 16-19 minutes after the initial 5 minutes. Use a toothpick to insert it into the center – it will come out with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter.
I personally think the jumbo muffins are the way to go…
Regular pumpkin muffins
No need to spread the liners for normal muffins, just fill evenly and top with sugar. The regular muffins will need to be baked for an additional 10-12 minutes. Use a toothpick to insert it into the center – it will come out with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter.
Maple Cinnamon Butter
To make the maple cinnamon butter, combine salted, softened butter with the maple syrup and cinnamon with a rubber spatula until it comes together. Spread onto the warm muffins.
Storing the muffins
Store the muffins uncovered and at room temperature for up to 4 days. Do not cover the muffins, or the tops will become soft and soggy. The pumpkin puree keeps the insides of these muffins moist for days!
Substitutions, additions, and tips
- Pureed sweet potato can be used instead of the pumpkin. Use the same weight measurement.
- I do not recommend making your own pumpkin puree. The process takes much longer and you have to wring all the water out, as well.
- If you want to turn these into pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter after the flour is mixed in. Fold in the chips until evenly distributed.
Frequently asked questions
The best way to keep a muffin light and fluffy is to not over mix the batter, which is what makes the muffins tough due to over developing the gluten in the flour. Using the correct amount of flour and leavening agents is also very important.
Pumpkin pie mix includes spices and sugar, while pumpkin puree is pure, straight pumpkin. You will need to use pumpkin puree for this recipe.
Let’s make more muffins!
Pumpkin Muffin Recipe (Jumbo or Regular)
Equipment
- 6-hole jumbo muffin tin OR 12-hole standard muffin tin
- Cupcake liners (jumbo or regular), optional
Materials
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 200g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 5g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 5g
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
- ½ cup light brown sugar 100g
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted 85g
- ¼ cup vegetable oil 56g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature (60g)
- 15 oz pure pumpkin puree
- Turbinado or Demerara sugar for muffin tops optional but one of the best parts
Maple Cinnamon Butter
- ¼ cup salted butter softened (57g)
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices) with a whisk until combined.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugars, butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, egg, and sour cream until combined. Fold in the pumpkin puree with a rubber spatula.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to the center. Fold it together with rubber spatula until it is just combined. Be sure to scrape the very bottom of the bowl multiple times and bring the spatula upward, as flour will get stuck down there. This takes a bit of patience, as it's a thick batter.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for one hour. This step is optional, but helps gain better muffin tops. (See notes section).
- Preheat the oven to 425℉/218℃ and line a 6-hole jumbo muffin tin or a 12-hole normal muffin tin with tulip cupcake liners* or lightly spray the tin with nonstick spray.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the liners, then sprinkle on the turbinado sugar to cover the tops.
- Bake at 425℉/218℃ for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 400℉/204℃. For jumbo muffins, bake for an additional 16-19 minutes. For regular muffins, bake for an additional 10-12 minutes. For either, you want a toothpick inserted in the center to come out clean without wet batter.
Maple Cinnamon Butter
- Combine the softened butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon and mix until completely smooth. Spread onto muffins, if desired.
I love these muffins, especially the the craggly tops . I used raw cane organic turbinado sugar for the tops, it was perfect. Definitely make the maple 🍁 cinnamon butter . ( make extra! ) I used it on pancakes and apple 🍎 muffins too.
Agree on all accounts! Love that you used the butter on the apple muffins, too!
this recipe is going to be on repeat at my house! these are the perfect fall/winter muffin. we made regular size- but want to try the jumbos next! the sugar on top makes these next level and the butter is a must have.
100& on the butter and sugar! Thanks, Stef!
These are insanely good! The Demerara sugar made the most delightful crispy tops (I should have added even more, in retrospect) and the maple cinnamon butter can’t be missed. They’re SO moist – a word I cringe while typing, but there’s no other way to describe. Bravo.
This is absolutely going to be my new go-to recipe for delicious fall treats!! These muffins are DELICIOUS. They taste like pumpkin pie and they are so easy to make. And don’t skip the butter – it elevates the already-delicious muffins to an otherworldly level!
Best advice – don’t skip the butter! So glad you enjoyed these 🙂