Pumpkin Muffins

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These healthy Pumpkin Muffins are so full of fall flavor! Made with pumpkin puree and a blend of lots of aromatic spice, these moist and fluffy muffins are the ultimate autumn treat. Perfect for breakfast, snacking, or sharing with loved ones. They are made with the option to add either walnuts or chocolate chips, or both if you're feeling crazy! No matter what you choose, you will have some very happy muffin munchers in your midst!

Ingredients

• Canned Pumpkin
• Eggs
• Canola Oil
• White Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda (make sure it hasn't expired!)
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Ground Allspice
• Vanilla
• Salt
• Walnuts or Mini Chocolate Chips (or both!)

How to Make Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

These muffins are so easy to make!

To make these muffins, you will start by whisking the eggs. If you have a hand or stand mixer like this beauty , mix them for about a minute to get them nice and light and airy. If you don't have an electric mixer of some sort, no problem! Just use a whisk, or even a fork!

Add in the white sugar and keep mixing- for about another minute, until the mixture is light in color.

Then turn the mixer down, and slowly add in the oil. Continue mixing until it is all fully incorporated.

Now add in the pumpkin and vanilla and mix it all together for another 10 seconds or so, until everything is fully mixed.

In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and spices.

Next, either using your slowest speed on your mixer, or by hand with a wooden spoon, slowly add your dry ingredients mixture. Stir everything until it is just incorporated, but as little as possible to keep everything light.

Gently fold in your walnuts or chocolate chips. Your batter is done! Now, cover it and pop it into the refrigerator for at least an hour, (or overnight!) while you grease your muffin tin and preheat your oven. Resting the batter is not necessary, but it does help to create bigger, fluffier muffins when they cook.

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe Addition Options

These muffins are so good by themselves, but there are some really good addition options:

• Walnuts
• Mini Chocolate Chips
• My Mom loves to use Rum Raisins in hers!
• Dried Cranberries

How to Bake the Muffins

There are two really important, but easy parts that will make a huge difference in your muffin making experience!

1. First, remember to preheat the oven to 425°F. We will only bake the muffins for about 6 minutes before turning the heat down to 350°F, but the first few minutes at high heat is what creates the big, domed muffin tops! So, remember to preheat your oven so it is nice and hot when you pop your muffins in!
2. Second tip is that if you are not using muffin papers, make sure that you grease and flour your muffin tin- and not just the muffin cups-make sure you grease the top too! This will make your muffins pop right out of the tin. Also, if you are using a non-stick tin, I am sorry to say you will still need to grease it.😕 And make sure you use butter or oil. Non stick pans do not like cooking spray, so do not use that. This technique is guaranteed to make it super easy to pop the muffins out of the tin, which can be so frustrating when they don't!

Fill your muffin tin to almost full with batter. Leave about ⅛ inch at the top. This will give the muffins just enough to grab onto and crawl up to get poofy!

If you are using walnuts, sprinkle a few walnut bits on top. I just think they are prettier and look more rustic this way.

Pop them in a 425°F oven for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes turn the heat down to 350°F WITHOUT OPENING THE DOOR. Sorry to get all dramatic there, but opening the door takes all the air out of the muffins' sails, so to speak. So just turn the temperature down and set the timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes check them by either gently poking one with your finger in the middle of the top- You want it to be soft and springy and not squishy and battery. Or, you can also poke the top middle with a toothpick and if it comes out clean with a few crumbs, they are done! If it comes out with batter on it, give it 5 more minutes and then check again.

When they are done, pull them from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes in the muffin tin before you take them out and let them finish cooling. It is best to remove them from the time so they don't either overcook, or get soggy from sitting in the tin.

Can I use Fresh Pumpkin instead of canned?

You sure can! Feel free to roast your own pumpkin. In this case, you will need about 1 and ¾ cups fresh pumpkin puree. If you have ever roasted an acorn squash, roasting a pumpkin is a similar concept.

Special Note: Make sure you are using a sugar pumpkin! When I was growing up, my mom made homemade pumpkin soup. We sat down to dinner and it was AWFUL. (I don't know how she didn't taste it as she was making it... I will have to ask her about that). Anyway, she realized she didn't use a sugar pumpkin! She was certain she had just poisoned her whole family!! So, just be aware... 😆

Cut your pumpkin in half, and scoop out the seeds. Poke the skin with a few holes, to let the steam escape. Rub it with an oil of your choice. And place it cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for about 50 minutes at 350°F. It will be done when you can easily poke the skin.

Let it cool for a few minutes until you can handle it. Then scoop out the flesh and smash it up. You will use 1 ¾ cups for this recipe.

Can I make Mini Muffins or a Loaf of Bread Instead?

Yes and Yes! Both are possible, you will just need to adjust baking times a bit.

For mini muffins, you still need to grease and flour your pan. Then, bake them for about 10-12 minutes at 350°F. Check them after 10 minutes the same way you would check the regular size muffins.

To make Pumpkin Walnut Bread, remember to grease and flour the loaf pan and then fill it no more than ⅔ full. This will give the batter something to hold onto and climb the sides of the pan to create a domed loaf, If you fill it too full, you will end up with a flat loaf. Boo.

If you have any leftover batter after filling your loaf pan, just make the rest into muffins! Depending on the size of the loaf pan, you should have enough for 2 loaves, or at least 1 loaf and some muffins!

For the bread, preheat your oven to 350°F. Then, bake your bread on one of the lower racks in your oven for 55 minutes. At 55 minutes, check the doneness the same way you check the muffins. If it is still squishy on top, add 5 more minutes. Continue this until it feels spongey, but not overly firm.

What do I do with all of these Muffins?

This recipe makes quite a few, and they are perfect for families on the go. They are an easy breakfast, perfect after school snack, or delicious treat to sneak into the lunch box. Compared to the processed cake like muffins you buy at the grocery store, these are pretty healthy pumpkin muffins, and so you can serve them guilt free asan afternoon snack, or a little surprise in the lunch box!

But if you find that you have more than you can eat right away, there are a few options.

First of all, they freeze beautifully! You can place them in a gallon sized freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. When you seal the bag, try to get out as much air as possible. This will prevent freezer burn and keep them fresh for as long as possible. These muffins can be stored in the freezer for a couple of months.

Another option is a love gift! It is so much fun to pack a couple of these muffins into a pretty basket like this one, maybe along with some of these Ginger Cookies, or a little bag of this yummy Candied Ginger, or a jar of this Pear Jam and give to someone you appreciate in your life. Maybe a co-worker, teacher, friend? Who doesn't love to get a gift of homemade goodies?

I hope you had fun with this yummy Pumpkin Muffin recipe! I would love to hear from you in the comments at the very bottom. What kinds of goodies did you add to yours? Thank you and thank you for visiting Mollie In Montana~*!♥️

📖 Recipe