These bakery style pumpkin muffins have a tender, heavily spiced crumb, a thick brown sugar crumble, and a delicious sweet drizzle. Pumpkin desserts can sometimes turn out spongy or dense, but combining melted butter with a splash of vegetable oil keeps these moist pumpkin spice muffins soft for days! You do not need a stand mixer or hand mixer, just two bowls and a rubber spatula. If you want more pumpkin recipes, you will also love my Pumpkin Maple Bundt Cake and my Pumpkin Oreo Muffins.
Why you’ll love this pumpkin streusel muffin
- Cozy spices: Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves create a cozy fall spice flavour in every bite.
- Pumpkin spice glaze: Powdered sugar and whole milk whisked with pumpkin pie spice add a sweet finish.
- Brown sugar crumble: Cold unsalted butter rubbed into flour and brown sugar bakes into delicious crisp clusters.
- No electric mixer: A simple whisk and rubber spatula combine the batter in minutes.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Pumpkin purée (100% pure pumpkin)
- Unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs, room temperature
- Whole milk, room temperature
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Pumpkin pie spice
*These are the main ingredients. The full list of ingredients and measurements can be found at the bottom of this post!*
Pure pumpkin purée provides structure and moisture, but using 100% pure pumpkin rather than canned pumpkin pie filling is mandatory. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugars and liquids that throw off the dry ingredient ratio completely.
Combining melted butter with vegetable oil gives you the best of both worlds. Melted butter adds rich flavour, while vegetable oil keeps the muffin crumb tender and soft for a long time. :)
Equipment
- Kitchen scale (I like to weigh out most of my ingredients for accuracy, I also think it’s more efficient when measuring things out over measuring cups!)
- Large and small mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- 12-cup standard muffin tin
- Paper muffin liners
- Wire cooling rack
Tips for making pumpkin streusel muffins
- Chill the streusel – Pop the crumble mixture into the refrigerator while mixing the batter so the butter stays cold and does not melt away into the dough during baking.
- Avoid overmixing the batter – Fold the wet and dry ingredients together with a rubber spatula just until the flour streaks disappear to keep the muffin texture light.
- Fill the cups high – Divide the batter so each lined muffin cup is roughly 80 percent full, which gives the streusel a sturdy ledge to rest on as the muffins rise.
- Cool before glazing – Let the baked muffins reach room temperature completely before adding the drizzle, otherwise the powdered sugar glaze will melt right off the tops.
Cold butter is non-negotiable for streusel. Rubbing cold, cubed unsalted butter into the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt with your fingertips creates coarse crumbs that hold their shape.
Place the bowl of streusel in the refrigerator while you mix the muffin batter. Keeping the butter chilled until the muffins go into the oven prevents the topping from melting into the batter.
FAQs
Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin purée? No, pumpkin pie filling contains added liquid, sugars, and pre-mixed spices that will mess up the moisture balance of the dough. Stick to 100 percent pure canned pumpkin purée for the right texture.
How do I store leftover muffins? Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Line the bottom of the container with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture so the crumb topping stays crisp.
Can I freeze these muffins with the glaze on top? You can freeze the baked unglazed muffins for up to three months in a freezer-safe container. Thaw them at room temperature and add the freshly mixed spiced glaze right before serving for the best appearance.
If you make these spiced pumpkin streusel muffins, leave a star rating and review below and tag @theflournook on socials! You can save this recipe by clicking the pin button on the recipe card or on any photo.
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Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
These tender pumpkin muffins are packed with cozy spices and topped with a crunchy brown sugar crumble you can make in minutes! A glossy pumpkin spice glaze drizzles over the top for a sweet, soft contrast addition.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1/2 cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp (38 g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Muffins
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (110 g) packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp (6 g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) baking soda
- 1 tsp (4 g) salt
- 1 1/2 tsp (3 g) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp (0.5 g) ground cloves
- 1 cup (244 g) pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3 tbsp (42 g) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) whole milk
- 1/4 tsp (0.5 g) pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp (1 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with paper liners.
- Whisk the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl for the streusel.
- Rub the cold butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form, then store the bowl in the refrigerator.
- Whisk the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the pumpkin purée, melted butter, vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract in a separate medium bowl until uniform.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula just until the flour streaks disappear.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about 80% full.
- Distribute the chilled streusel topping evenly over the unbaked batter.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled muffins before serving.
Notes
- I keep the streusel topping in the fridge while preparing the batter so the cold butter pieces stay intact before hitting the heat of the oven.
- Make sure to buy pure pumpkin purée rather than canned pumpkin pie mix, as the pre-spiced filling alters the sugar and liquid ratios in the batter.
- I wait until the muffins are completely cold before adding the glaze, otherwise the warm muffin tops melt the sugar immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
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