Name: Pumpkin Brown Sugar Muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 ¾ c flour; 1 t baking soda; 1/2 t salt; 1 ½ t cinnamon; a good shaving of fresh nutmeg or don’t use it; 1 1/2 c packed brown sugar; 1/2 c oil; 1/3 c water; 1 c canned pumpkin; 2 eggs; 1 t vanilla; 1/2 c walnuts or pecans chopped medium fine; 1 c brown sugar; 1/2 t cinnamon; 1 2 c mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Jump to Recipe·5 from 2 reviews

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These pumpkin brown sugar muffins topped with cinnamon and brown sugar and chocolate chips, make an incredibly tasty muffin. Plus these bakery style muffins with big domed tops are so easy to make!

In 2011 I made these pumpkin brown sugar muffins. They tasted totally divine, but they turned out flat.

In my book, muffins aren't supposed to be flat. They are supposed to have big, billowy tops with moist and tender interiors, just like the Rocky Mountains!

In Colorado, because of our altitude, many baked goods often just don't do what they are supposed to. Cookies are often flat. Breads are often dry. And muffins, kind of sometimes, look like this!

I happen to love muffins and have several muffins on the blog. My newest fave is the chocolate muffins that I recently posted.

Yes, I took this photo in 2011!

Clearly, my pumpkin muffin recipe just wasn't measuring up to the standard of a muffin I wanted, except for that incredible flavor.

Fast forward to 2020. I've got the secret for you about how to make the muffins look like something someone would love to eat.

pumpkin brown sugar muffins in muffin tin

Why I Love Pumpkin Brown Sugar Muffins

These pumpkin muffins with a cinnamon sugar top are so Fall-ish.

Made with warm cinnamon they aren't to Fall-ish that you can't eat them in the Spring. Or the Winter.

Or really just anytime. This easy pumpkin muffin recipe is loved by everyone and they are perfect for gifting!

These bakery style pumpkin muffins with a nice domed top are just what I always wanted to achieve.

With research I found out the secret to baking muffins that resemble their bakery style cousins. And because I love passing out great tips, I'm going to share!

How to Bake Bakery Style Pumpkin Brown Sugar Muffins:

I always chill my cookie dough. Why have I never ever thought to chill muffin batter? By chilling your muffin dough for at least an hour or even overnight, this allows the flour to absorb the liquid ingredients into the batter which creates a batter that is stronger and tastes better.

From there the technique is all in the baking. Does your muffin recipe say "bake at 350 for 20 minutes"? Well, that's not how I'm going to do it anymore!

Baking muffins at an initial heat of 425 helps creates an initial burst of steam that lets the batter rise quickly. How come I didn't think of this before?

After that the oven temperature is reduced to 350 to finish baking.

Honestly I was amazed that it was this simple to produce such lovely muffins. I can't wait to try other muffin recipes, as now I have no doubt that this works.

I did nothing else to this recipe besides change the chilling and the baking process!

Be sure to line your muffin cups. I use these and this pumpkin brown sugar muffin recipe is made for a standard muffin tin.

Pumpkin brown sugar Muffins in muffin pan

Ingredients for Pumpkin Brown Sugar Muffins

Basically pumpkin brown sugar muffins are made by combining the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.

Dry ingredients:

Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon and fresh Nutmeg
You could also sub in 1 ½ t of pumpkin pie spice if you prefer that.

Wet ingredients:
Packed brown sugar
Flavorless oil like canola, sunflower or vegetable
Water or coffee or Earl Grey tea
Canned pumpkin
Eggs - I always use large eggs at room temperature
Vanilla extract
Walnuts or pecans chopped medium fine

Topping and Filling
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

FAQ's

Muffins vs cake:

Though I admit to eating muffins like cake; including the ice cream, muffins tend to have less sugar and fat due to an absence of frosting. They also tend to be made with oils and not solid fats like butter.

Will muffins last longer in the fridge?

Depending on the climate in which you live, I would recommend refrigerating or freezing muffins. After they have completely cooled, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and place all of them in a large ziplock bag. When ready to eat I unwrap them, place them individually in a paper towel and then heat the frozen muffin on the defrost cycle for 1 minute.

Should muffins be made with milk or water?

I prefer making muffins with a liquid that isn't milk. Milk makes a muffin more dense and I prefer a lighter, fluffier muffin.

Manservant loved these muffins and he isn't much of a sweets eater at breakfast. He ate two before I pulled them out of his reach and placed them in the freezer.

Yes, these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are for Zoe. She loves sweets in the morning! And she is a huge fall foods eater!

These muffins aren't loaded with pumpkin spice; in fact all they contain is cinnamon and a bit of fresh nutmeg, but one could substitute pumpkin pie spice if one so desires.

I feel the chocolate and cinnamon makes these pumpkin brown sugar muffins just right! Well, more than right. These are really good!

Let me know your thoughts!

More Muffin Recipes

Double Chocolate Muffins

Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins

I'd love to hear if you make this recipe!

Please share a review or rate the recipe,

and be sure to tag me on social!

Recipe Card

Recipe

Pumpkin Brown Sugar Muffins

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

Author: Abbe Odenwalder
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 12 - 16 Muffins 1x
Category: Bread
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

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Description

These showy, brown sugar pumpkin muffins with a brown sugar, cinnamon topping with chocolate chips are divine.

Instructions

Spray the top of the muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill muffin tin with muffin liners.

In large bowl whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together.

In another bowl whisk together sugar, oil, water, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and nuts. Add flour mixture to liquid. Combine well with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Do not over mix.

Chill muffin batter for at least 60 minutes or overnight.

Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and chocolate chips to create filling.

When ready to bake preheat oven to 425. Place oven rack in upper third of oven.

Fill muffin tins halfway with batter and sprinkle with a spoonful of filling. Now fill muffin tins within an ⅛" of the top and sprinkle with any extra filling.

Bake at 425 for 6 to 9 minutes. Without opening oven door, peek to see if the muffins are about a ¼ -½" above the paper. That means it's time to turn the oven heat down to 350.

Bake 6 - 10 minutes longer or until toothpick inserted comes out barely clean. (My muffins were ready with the shortest times mentioned.)

Remove from oven and let cool on rack for 1 - 2 minutes. Then remove from pan. If you leave them in the muffin pan the sides and bottom will become soggy.

Notes

Never over mix muffins. No need to use a mixer. Stir by hand!