Pumpkin Muffins Recipe: How to Make Pumpkin Muffins

A pumpkin muffin is an individual-sized quick bread that combines warming spices and pumpkin purée. Muffins rise using baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast. These pastries are easily customizable with additional mix-ins such as chocolate chips, nuts, and fruits. You can serve pumpkin muffins for breakfast or as a snack or dessert.

Pumpkin muffin recipes call for pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, which is a different product. Pumpkin purée results from mashing, cooking, and draining a pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling, on the other hand, features sugar, vanilla extract, and spices like nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon. These additional ingredients give it a richer flavor that works well for pumpkin pie. When making pumpkin muffins, it is best to use pumpkin purée, so you can control the flavor of the muffins.

You can make homemade pumpkin purée with just a few tools and ingredients. Follow these steps:

• Prepare your pumpkin. Get a pumpkin ready for baking by scooping out the pumpkin seeds and then chopping the pumpkin into chunks.
• Soften the pumpkin by baking. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake your pumpkin on a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper until it is fork-tender.
• Blend the softened pumpkin. Place the chopped and baked pumpkin in a blender or food processor and add liquid to cover the pumpkin. Secure the lid and purée the pumpkin chunks until they’re smooth and homogenous. If the mixture is too dry, try adding liquid by the tablespoon and continue to blend until it reaches the desired consistency.

When making pumpkin muffins, consider the following baking tips:

1. 1. Add more sugar. You can serve pumpkin muffins like cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting, streusel topping, or a scoop of ice cream on the side.
2. 2. Bring your ingredients to room temperature. For fluffy muffins, begin your baking process with room-temperature eggs, butter, and milk. This forms a smoother mixture that traps air and expands with heat in the oven.
3. 3. Experiment with mix-ins. The best pumpkin muffins are those custom to your preferences. You can add walnuts, pecans, cranberries, or chocolate chips for extra flavor.
4. 4. Line the muffin tin. Instead of greasing the muffin tin, use paper liners. There is enough fat in the recipe to make your muffins nice and moist, so greasing is not necessary. Paper liners also make for easy cleanup.
5. 5. Make substitutions. Many pumpkin muffin recipes call for whole milk and eggs, but you can make vegan muffins with oat milk and applesauce. You can also swap all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour or almond flour for fewer carbohydrates.
6. 6. Mix the ingredients in separate bowls. To prevent overworking the muffin batter, first mix the wet ingredients in one medium bowl, then mix the dry ingredients in another.

Muffins can keep for three to five days when kept in an airtight container. Place the muffins in a single layer in the container. To stack the muffins, place parchment paper or a paper towel between them. You can keep the container on the counter or in the fridge.

You can also freeze the muffins so they keep for longer. Individually wrap each muffin, place them in an airtight container, and freeze for up to five months. Let them defrost and reach room temperature before eating. Place in the oven to warm them, or cut them in half and fry with butter flat-side down in a pan.