A Little Guide to Baking Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

Pumpkin pecan muffins are hearty, nutty spicy and a just a bit cake like. These pumpkin muffins have a tender but dense crumb and will warm your spirits with lots of cheerful spices and crunchy pecans. This is an old recipe that was nearly lost but thankfully, my friend Kara helped me remember how it was created several years ago. So before we forget again, let’s make some pumpkin pecan muffins!

When it comes to making pumpkin muffins, desserts or breads, we recommend using canned pumpkin as a beginner. It’s a lot of work making your own pureed pumpkin and frankly, the taste difference is pretty minimal for the recipes we have created. Wouldn’t it be better to spend your time using the leftovers of the canned pumpkin and making a delicious pumpkin cake instead?

Let’s look how to make pumpkin muffins below! It’s so easy, that you’ll wonder why you are reading all this and not just baking them. If you aren’t a fan of nuts, leave them out. They are delicious without pecans! Don’t have allspice? Swap it for nutmeg and cloves or omit it all together. Only have pumpkin pie spice? Substitute all the spices with pumpkin pie spice. This recipe is so easy to make your own.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Let’s do a pictorial step-by-step on how to make pumpkin muffins! I promise it really is an easy recipe to do!

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients

First, gather the flour, spices, salt, and baking powder. Weigh them out carefully so you will have the perfect portioned pumpkin muffins. If using nuts, take one tablespoon of the flour and toss them in in a separate bowl with the pecans.

Then, mix these ingredients all together and then set aside. You could use a sifter to ensure there are no lumps. But a whisk or even a fork will do nicely for this recipe.

Step 2: Gather and mix the wet ingredients

Now we need to gather up our wet ingredients. Did you know many baking recipes often include sugar in the wet ingredients? This is mainly because sugar is often combined with other wet ingredients. Sugar also acts like a wet ingredient and helps retain and create moisture.

First, you want to cream together your butter and sugars. You can use all white sugar if you don’t have any brown sugar. But I highly recommend a trip to the store if possible. It really brings out that flavor of the pumpkin and spices.

Next, you want to beat in your eggs. Add them one at a time so you don’t split the batter. Make sure to really put some air into this mixture, you don’t want the batter to be curdled.

Step 3: Add remaining wet ingredients to the dry ingredients

Once our eggs are combined, we are going to mix in the pumpkin, flour mixture and vanilla that you set aside earlier. Mix it until just combined. You are making muffins, not bread.

Then gently fold in the pecans. If you like walnuts, use those instead. Or perhaps add a cup full of dried cranberries with the pecans? Or you can leave out nuts entirely.

Step 4: Divide the Batter and Bake

Once the batter is complete, you want to divide it equally in a non-stick muffin tin or one that is lined with paper liners or generously greased and floured. Paper liners are recommended for ease of sharing, storing and cleanup. You’ll have about 2 1/2 – 3 tablespoons of batter in each tin depending on how soft your butter was when mixing your ingredients.

After the muffins are bake, you will see lots of lovely cracks on the surface. Cool them in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then carefully move them to a wire rack to finish cooling before storing. You can also eat these warm. They are delicious fresh out of the oven!

When you place them on a wire rack to cool, be sure to leave space around each muffin. This will speed up cooling and prevent them from sweating as they cool.

Substitutions

Here are some common substitutions for the recipe.

• Nutmeg and cloves can be used instead of allspice.  Substitute 1/8 tsp (.25g) each for the 1/4 tsp allspice.
• Pumpkin pie spice can be used in substitution.  Use 1 1/2 tsp (3g) and omit all other spices.
• Oil can be used instead of butter.  Substitute 1/3 cup (80mL) in place of the 1/2 cup (113g) of butter.
• Margarine can be used in place of butter.  Swap equal amounts.  Vegetable spread is not recommended due to the low fat and high water contents.  
• Instead of pecans, use walnuts or dried fruit in equal amounts.

Storage

These pumpkin pecan muffins are best served on the same day or the very next morning since they are made with butter. Baked goods made with butter will dry out very quickly and flavor is optimal on the first day.

Store in an paper bag on the counter up to 3 days to help retain the texture and flavors. If stored in an airtight container, the muffins will become slightly sticky and softer. It is not recommended these are stored in the fridge as the butter will quickly dry out the muffins. They may be stored tightly wrapped in the freezer for up to 3 months, but it will change the crumb structure the longer they are stored.

Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

These pumpkin muffins combine pumpkin with butter, pecans, brown sugar and spices to make the most flavorful and hearty muffins, perfect for breakfast and snacking.

Print Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time20 minutes minutes

Total Time30 minutes minutes

Servings12

Calories 214.5

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cups (200g) flour
• 1 cup (244g) pureed pumpkin
• ½  cup (113g) softened butter
• 2 large (100g) eggs
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (56g) chopped pecans
• ¼ cup (56g) brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp (6g) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla
• ½ tsp (2.5g) salt
• 1 tsp (2g) cinnamon
• ½ tsp (1g) ground ginger
• ¼ tsp (.5g) allspice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F (200C.)
• Line or grease and flour a muffin tin.
• In a small bowl, combine 1 tbs of flour and chopped pecans. Set aside.
• In another bowl, combine remaining flour, spices, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs, one at a time until smooth and no longer curdled. Mix in flour mixture, pumpkin and vanilla until just combined. Do not over-mix. Fold in nuts.
• Divide batter equally into each muffin tin, about 3 tbs. Bake 16 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

Substitutions:

• Nutmeg and cloves can be used instead of allspice.  Substitute 1/8 tsp each for the 1/4 tsp.
• Pumpkin pie spice can be used in substitution.  Use 1 1/2 tsp (3g) and omit all other spices.
• Oil can be used instead of butter.  Substitute 1/3 cup (80mL) in place of the 1/2 cup (113g) of butter.
• Margarine can be used in place of butter.  Swap equal amounts.  Vegetable spread is not recommended.  

Nutrition Facts

Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Serving Size

 

1 muffin

Amount per Serving

Calories

214.5

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

11.5

g

18

%

Saturated Fat

 

5.3

g

33

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.3

g

Sodium

 

169.5

mg

7

%

Carbohydrates

 

25

g

8

%

Fiber

 

0.9

g

4

%

Protein

 

4.5

g

9

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.