Pumpkin Muffins

Posted on by Jeff the Chef

This is a spectacular recipe for pumpkin muffins. Their texture is perfect, and their pumpkin spice flavor is like the best pumpkin pie, in muffin form.

Pumpkin Muffins
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Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe by Jeff the Chef
5.0 from 1 vote
Makes

6

jumbo muffins
Prep time

40

minutes
Mixing/Baking time

50

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Note that it takes about an hour to bring the eggs and puree to room temperature. I have not calculated that into the prep time.

Ingredients

  • 60g chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)

  • 50-60g raisins (1/3 cup)

  • 30ml spiced rum (2 Tbs)

  • Zest from 1 orange (optional)

  • 212g granulated sugar (1 cup)

  • 78g light brown sugar (⅓ cup)

  • 205g all-purpose flour (1½ cups)

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1/4 tsp baking powder

  • 1½ tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 tsp ground ginger

  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp ground clove

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 57g of butter (1/2 stick)

  • 80ml cold milk (1/3 cup)

  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

  • 2 large eggs, room temperature

  • 245g pumpkin puree (1 cup), room temperature

  • 25g turbinado sugar (2 Tbs)

Directions

  • If using a traditional oven, preheat to 375°F (see Steps 5 and 6). Line a jumbo muffin tin with paper liners. Toast the nuts over high heat until they darken slightly and their scent goes from “not much” to “deeply nutty;” set aside to cool. Place the raisins in a microwavable bowl. Pour the rum into them. Nuke until steaming, 30 seconds at 100%. Cover and set aside. (For deeper flavor, let them soak overnight.) (In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the zest into both sugars until uniform and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes of vigorous, uninterrupted hand whisking, or approximately 400 to 600 vigorous strokes; set aside.)
  • In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly hand-whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and salt. Whisk the sugar mixture into the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts.
  • Strain the raisins. (Drink the liquid!) In a 4-cup measuring cup or something equally roomy, melt the butter in the microwave, 1 minute at 100% power. Pour the milk into the butter and whisk thoroughly. Whisk the vanilla and eggs thoroughly into the milk mixture. Whisk in the pumpkin. Stir in the raisins.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold gently with a flexible spatula just until the flour disappears. Divide the batter evenly among the 6 cups. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, about 1 teaspoon per muffin.
  • To bake these muffins in a traditional oven, bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the largest muffin comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. After the first 15-20 minutes, check on the muffins periodically – through the glass, preferably. If the muffins are getting too dark, cover loosely with foil. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.
  • To bake these muffins in a smart oven or toaster oven, place the rack in Position 6 (the “bake” position) and use the PHASE COOK function. First phase: BAKE, 375ºF, 16 minutes, convection. Second phase: 350ºF, 15 minutes, all other setting stay the same. Once the oven is preheated, bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the largest muffin comes out clean. (Perform your first check when the muffins have been in the oven for 24 minutes.) Let the muffins cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • Substitutions: an equal volume of white sugar for the brown … in other words, a total of 1⅓ cups of white sugar. More substitutions: pecans for the walnuts, chopped dates for the raisins.
  • I developed this recipe using a Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, BOV900. Adapting the directions to another oven make or model may require modifications.
"Pumpkin Muffins," from Make It Like a Man!

No question: these are restaurant quality muffins. They’re gorgeous, fluffy, and pumpkiny. The pillowy softness of the crumb is enhanced by the crunchiness of the crust. I’ve not gone to culinary school, and would never pretend to exist on the same plane as a professional baker, but I am a well-travelled, highly-seasoned eater of muffins, and if I came upon a bakery making these muffins, I’d absolutely rave about it.

Definitely enjoy one while they’re still warm (but not hot).

About the Ingredients…

  • If the puree is homemade or leftover, it may have been refrigerated for storage. It’s generally best if baking ingredients are at room temperature before you begin mixing them together. You get better mixes, and better bakes. However, some types of bakes are more forgiving than others, and this is one of them. So long as you’re judging doneness by test rather than by timing, you’ll be OK.
  • Canned puree, by the way, is excellent – in fact, probably as good or better than what you can make from a fresh pumpkin at home. I’ve tried; that’s how I know.
  • If you open a 1 lb, 13 oz can of puree for this recipe, you’ll have enough leftover to make two more batches. But make them relatively soon, because the refrigerated puree won’t last forever. Even so, you will wind eventually wind up with a small amount of leftover puree – too little for another batch. Toss it with freshly-cooked pasta, with a touch of cream, some aromatics, spices, herbs, and cheese.
  • 50g of raisins is not a lot. Trust me, it’s the perfect amount if you’re also including the nuts. Without the nuts, go with the 60g.
  • The orange is optional, depending on how much you want these pumpkins to sate a pumpkin-spice craving. Without the orange, the muffins are solidly reminiscent of pumpkin pie. If you add the orange, it’s amazing how much it comes through. It blends with the pumpkin and creates a really beautiful effect. The result is still clearly pumpkin, and it’s unquestionably delicious, but it pushes the bullseye somewhere left of “pumpkin spice.” It all comes down to what you want from these muffins. Both ways are wonderful.

Serving Sizes

As always, I’m going to suggest that each of these jumbo muffins is shareable by two people. But they’re so good, you’re going to wind up eating one all to yourself. 

Leftovers

How you store muffins depends entirely on how quickly you plan to eat them.

If you’ll finish them over the next few days, keep them on the counter. The trick is to prevent them from getting soggy, or from drying out too fast. Do this: Once they are absolutely at room temperature, and have been so for a while, to the point that you’re convinced that they’re room temperature all the way to their cores, line a zip-top bag with a sheet of paper towel. Place the muffins inside in a single layer, then place another paper towel directly on top of them. Seal the bag when you’re ready to retire for the evening, and from that point on, keep it sealed. The paper towels absorb the escaping moisture – which you are helpless to prevent – but trapping it in the paper towels stops the sugar on the muffin tops from turning sticky and wet.

Kept like this, once the muffins are day-old, they will have lost the crispness of their crusts, unfortunately … but the sugar will still offer you a bit of crunch, which is really nice. The muffins will still be beautifully moist and will be absolutely crushing it with deliciousness. Even though they’re day-old, I wouldn’t hesitate to offer one to a guest and feel proud of my work. Two-day-old, ditto with a slight loss of moisture. Change the paper towels. Three-day-old: sugar crunch almost gone, tops a bit soggy, crumb a bit drier, flavor still amazing … but definitely a step down.

Having said all that, if you happen to have a cookie tin large enough to accommodate them, I think it makes a perfect way to store them. It’s just airtight enough. 

Muffins freeze incredibly well and taste almost as good as fresh once thawed. As soon as they’ve come to room temperature, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, (and then in aluminum foil), and place them all into a heavy-duty freezer bag. They will keep well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or unwrap and microwave on high for 20 to 30 seconds. For a crisp crust, pop a thawed muffin into a toaster oven at 350°F for 3 to 5 minutes.

There’s nothing in these muffins that needs refrigeration, so don’t store them in the fridge. The cool, circulating air will dry them out, and they’ll go stale much faster than they would on the countertop.

"Pumpkin Muffins," from Make It Like a Man!
Pumpkin Muffins

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Make It Like a Man! has no connection to Breville or any outlet that sells its applicances, and this post was not sponsored in any way. Thank you, Kesor. Thank you, ⌘+C. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #2 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs. 

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40 thoughts on “Pumpkin Muffins”

  3. I love pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins — but have never made either. Now that I have your recipe, I can get a start on that! I am also glad ot have a used for the spiced rum I have…

    Reply

  5. Spectacular you say? I think I agree. The orange zest in this recipe might be a small element, but I can tell it’s possibly the most important. I can just imagine how good the kitchen will smell while these muffins are in the oven!

    Reply

    1. Thank you, David. I may throw around words like spectacular too often – I try not to – but these muffins are literally spectacular.

      Reply

  6. I just left a note at my place that I tried these, and they’re wonderful. I used to make my mother’s pumpkin bread, but it’s heavy on 1950s ingredients like a cup of Crisco, and it makes two loaves. This is a perfect substitute; the muffins have the taste I enjoy, and even if I ate the whole batch myself I’d still be ahead of the game.

    Reply

    1. Hey, thanks so much! These are the best muffins I’ve ever made, so I’m so glad that you love them! (Thanks for your patience. I do moderate these comments and sometimes it takes me a while to get to them.)

      Reply

  11. Jeff I love bakery products and cakes made with pumpkin, and these look so good. I am interested that you say don’t use home cooked pumpkin cold, that has been stored in the frig, bring it to room temperature. I’ve never heard that before. I don’t buy canned pumpkin puree, it’s not such a thing here, because the pumpkins are so good all year round. However, I’ll have to give your pumpkin muffins a go.

    Reply

    1. Some cakes, I’ve found, aren’t fussy about ingredient temperature. But some are. And when they are, what seems to happen is that you can’t get the cake done to the center without over-baking the exterior. Typically, they wind up falling as they cool. That’s why a lot of cake recipes tell you to bring all the ingredients to room temperature before mixing. I used leftover puree which was why it was in the fridge. I’ve had enough cakes fall that I’ve taken to bringing at least the major ingredients to room temperature as a precaution.

      Reply

    1. Thanks! These muffins sure convince me to eat pumpkin. The rum is subtle. If you want it to be punched up, you’d have to soak the raisins quite a bit longer.

      Reply

  14. This is exactly the sort of autumn bake that disappears faster than you expect because everyone keeps “just taking one more.”

    Reply

  16. Hi Jeff, your description of these special pumpkin muffins has sold me. This is the season when pumpkin is taking the limelight. I’ll have to give these a try for my house guests who will be visiting next weekend.

    Reply

    1. I know what you mean! I hate to see the summer go, but I love to see pumpkin or apple anything.

      Reply

  19. Wow, These Pumpkin Muffins look very delicious. I really like pumpkin cakes, pumkin soup (in a cream version) or pumpkin spice late. I had the opportunity to drink pumpkin spice late, but also i tried eclairs with pumpkin cream from the confectioner’s so I must to say that these eclairs was very fantastic. In last time I had very short of time for backing but I plan to back something. I often use a cake mix – very quickly and easy to prepare somrthing sweet for dessert 😊 Thx for this recipe.
    With all my heart, I greet you 🥰🤲🧡

    Reply

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