These are the BEST pumpkin muffins, and the recipe we make on repeat every fall. It uses a full can of pumpkin puree, one bowl of wet ingredients, one bowl of dry, and you've got a dozen bakery-style muffins with crunchy turbinado sugar tops and a soft, warmly spiced inside. You can even mix the batter the night before and bake them fresh in the morning.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe! I have been making pumpkin muffins for YEARS, trying new recipes
every fall. But I've finally found it! This recipe will actually make it to my written recipes. The texture and the flavours are the perfect fall comfort food. The maple cinnamon butter just puts it over the top.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Christy
Add a pecan streusel topping from our pumpkin coffee cake to kick it up a notch. Serve these muffins in the morning alongside some pumpkin brioche buns, and this pumpkin spice latte cake in the afternoon for a full day of fall pumpkin festivities!
These pumpkin sour cream muffins came out of my obsession with getting that real bakery muffin top at home (you know the one). Tall, domed, slightly craggy, with a sugary crust that crackles when you bite in. I kept running into recipes that either gave me a sad flat top or a gummy, dense inside. So I tested and tested until I landed on this version, and it's been a reader favorite every fall since.
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Why We Love It!
- Bakery-style tops - Tall, craggy, sugar-crusted muffin tops that look and taste like they came straight from your favorite coffee shop. No special equipment needed.
- One full can of pumpkin - This recipe uses the whole 15oz can so there's no leftover pumpkin sitting in the fridge wondering what its purpose is.
- Stays moist for days - Between the sour cream and the pumpkin puree, these muffins stay soft and tender long after they come out of the oven.
- Make-ahead friendly - Chill the batter overnight and bake them off fresh in the morning. Hot muffins with zero morning effort? Yes, please.
Ingredients
- Sour cream. Full-fat only here! It adds richness, keeps the crumb tender, and helps activate the leavening for a better rise. Don't swap it for a low-fat version.
- Pure pumpkin puree. Look for pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. They are not the same thing and they cannot be swapped. This recipe uses one full 15oz can.
- Both baking soda and baking powder. Using both gives you the lift you need for those tall domed tops. Make sure neither is expired!
- Coarse sugar. Turbinado or Demerara sugar goes on top before baking and creates that signature crunchy, sparkly crust. Don't skip it.
- Warm spices. Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves bring all the classic pumpkin spice flavor. You can also swap these for 1.5 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice if that's what you have.
- Both butter and oil. Butter adds flavor, oil adds moisture. Using both gives you the best of both worlds.
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. It adds some nice extra flavor. Also, softened.
- Pure maple syrup. Just two tablespoons!
- Ground cinnamon.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap the individual spices for 1.5 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- Full fat greek yogurt can be used instead of sour cream.
- Use sweet potato puree in place of pumpkin puree.
- Add ½ cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter for a pumpkin chocolate chip version.
- Add a pecan streusel topping from my pumpkin coffee cake to make these extra special.
- Stir in 1-2 ounces of bourbon for a slightly boozy fall muffin - think butter rum muffins for cozy season!
- Make them jumbo! Fill a jumbo muffin tin and add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
📸 Step By Step Overview
This is a quick visual overview. See the recipe card for full, detailed instructions.
Preheat the oven and line the muffin tin with paper liners or grease the wells if not using liners. Don't have liners? Check out my DIY Muffin Liners video!
- Step 1: Whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth.
- Step 2: Add the can of pumpkin and whisk to combine.
- Step 3: Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Rest the batter in the fridge for an hour if you can!
- Step 4: Fill 12 muffin liners evenly until they're completely full.
- Step 5: Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
- Step 6: Bake and cool, then enjoy with some maple cinnamon butter!
Maple Cinnamon Butter
This part is optional but I really want you to make it. Mix together salted softened butter, pure maple syrup, and a pinch of cinnamon with a rubber spatula until it's smooth and spreadable. Split open a warm pumpkin sour cream muffin and swipe it right across the inside. It melts in immediately and takes the whole experience up about ten notches.
It takes about two minutes to make and is also incredible on toast, biscuits, and warm scones. My apple cinnamon scones would be very happy to meet it, just saying.
Tips for Success
- Make sure your egg and sour cream are at room temperature before mixing. Cold ingredients don't incorporate as smoothly and can affect the texture. To warm a cold egg quickly, place it (in the shell) in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes.
- Don't over-mix the batter. Fold just until the flour disappears. Over-mixing develops too much gluten and leads to tough, dense muffins.
- Refrigerate the batter for at least one hour, or overnight. This is technically optional, but is hands-down the best tip for tall muffin tops and deep pumpkin spice flavor.
- Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The filling has added sugar and spices and will throw off the whole recipe.
- Store the baked muffins uncovered in the tin. The tops stay crunchy and the insides stay moist. Covering them traps steam and softens the tops.
- To re-crisp the tops after storage, pop the muffins in a 425℉ oven for 3-5 minutes. Good as new!
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Common Questions
Yes! This batter is actually better when it rests. Mix it up the night before, cover it tightly, and refrigerate overnight. Pull it out, fill the muffin tin, and bake straight from the fridge. The cold batter going into a hot oven actually helps with that tall muffin top rise.
You can, but I don't recommend it for this recipe. Fresh pumpkin has a higher water content than canned, and you'd have to cook, puree, and squeeze out a ton of water thoroughly to get a similar consistency. Canned pumpkin is more consistent and honestly makes these just as delicious with way less effort.
Absolutely! Fill a jumbo muffin tin all the way to the top, add the coarse sugar, then bake for 5 minutes at the high temperature before reducing and continuing for another 23-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick - a few moist crumbs are fine, wet batter is not.
I'd really encourage you not to. Sour cream is key to the texture and moisture of these pumpkin sour cream muffins. If you absolutely need a swap, full-fat plain Greek yogurt works in a 1:1 ratio and will give you a similar result.
Storage
Store the baked muffins uncovered at room temperature for up to 4 days. Covering them will cause the tops to go soft and soggy. The pumpkin puree keeps the insides moist on its own, so you don't need to worry about them drying out.
To freeze: Wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, place in an airtight container, and freeze for up to two months. Unwrap completely and thaw at room temperature, then re-crisp in a 425℉ oven for 3-5 minutes.
More Muffins To Try!
General Tid Bits
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
📖Recipe
Bakery-Style Pumpkin Muffins with Crunchy Sugar Tops
Equipment
- 6-hole jumbo muffin tin OR 12-hole standard muffin tin
- Cupcake liners (jumbo or regular), optional
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature
- 15 oz pure pumpkin puree 1 can
- Turbinado or Demerara sugar for muffin tops optional but one of the best parts
Maple Cinnamon Butter
- ¼ cup salted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients with a whisk until combined.1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour , 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- 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.½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract, 1 large egg , ¼ cup sour cream, 15 oz pure pumpkin puree
- 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.Turbinado or Demerara sugar for muffin tops optional
- 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. Open a warm muffin and spread on the insides to melt.¼ cup salted butter, 2 teaspoons maple syrup, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Taylor says
My family has a secret recipe for pumpkin bread that has been passed down for generations. Nothing has ever topped it. Until now. Holy cow. These have the best pumpkin flavor! They’re light and fluffy with a delightfully crunchy top. 10/10. No notes.
Callan Wenner says
Wowww, this is a big time compliment. I'm so happy they stand up to the infamous bread!
Megan says
These are perfectly moist and delicious! The best excuse to visit your local coffee shop to stock up on extra turbinado packets for topping 🤫
Callan Wenner says
This made me laugh!! Perfect idea.
Callan Wenner says
These are my FAVORITE muffins to make every fall!