Fall is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than with warm, scratch pumpkin spice muffins.
So today, I’m going to share one of my favorite things. Pumpkin spice muffins. They are delicious and they are very easy to make. Years ago, I was very intimidated by baking from scratch. These days, I rarely used boxed baking goods. Today I thought I would share a funny story before we get cooking. If you’d rather head strait for the recipe, I’ll put a jump link below.
Once Upon a Time in England
Right after I graduated high school I went to England where I studied art. I was only 18 years old and so many things in England were different. First of all they use the metric system there. So trying to figure out how to make things with grams, etc took a lot of practice. Also, their temperatures on the oven aren’t just in celsius, but they actually have gradients called “gas mark.” I was stunned when I looked on the oven and it read “gas mark 1, 2, 3, etc.”
Anyway, I hadn’t been there long and I want to bake a birthday cake for someone. I went into our small co-op grocery store and searched the aisles for cake mix. Finally, after I couldn’t find it, I asked someone who worked there. “Where are the cake mixes,” I asked. The poor guy stood there confused. He had no clue what I was talking about. “Cake mix? What is that, love?” I was equally confused. How could someone not understand what a cake mix was. I began to explain. He stopped me mid-sentence and said, “we have flour and chocolate powder.” After a few more times back and forth I realized there was no such thing there. It was the first time, I realized just how spoiled Americans really are. We have so many conveniences here and we still complain about doing things. Well, that was back in 1998. I’m sure it may be different now.
That experience though, was the first time I had to bake a cake from scratch. Now, I bake nearly everything from scratch, but initially, I was terrified by it.
Making Scratch Pumpkin Muffins
I know that not everyone is a fan of pumpkin spice. I personally don’t really care for pumpkin spice flavoring when it is artificial. However, I love pumpkin spice when it is fresh. That’s why I love my Slowcooker Pumpkin Spice Latte which uses fresh pumpkin! You don’t need any special equipment to make this recipe. Just a standard muffin tin. You can totally hand mix this recipe as well. No need for a beater or stand mixer.
Full disclaimer, I’ve never tried making this recipe with fresh pumpkin. I’ve always used canned pureed pumpkin. The most important technique with this recipe is that the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients will need to be mixed separately first. I have found that this helps reduce lumps. If you don’t do this, you will have to do a lot of mixing to get the lumps out. This results in tougher muffins. If you are new to making breads, let me explain. The more you mix or knead a bread, the stronger and tougher it becomes. Muffins should be fluffy, moist and soft. That means you don’t want to over mix. Mix just enough to fully combine ingredients.
This recipe calls for vegetable oil but I have found you can use melted coconut oil just fine. This recipe also calls for baking soda in lieu of baking powder similar to many banana bread recipes. Don’t worry. I promise it will come out perfectly.
Tip: Use an ice cream scoop to add your batter to your muffin tin
Scratch Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Equipment
- muffin tin
- 2 mixing bowls
- ice cream scoop
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 ¾ Cups All purpose flour
- 2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- ½ Tsp Salt
- ¼ Tsp Ground cloves
- 2 Large Eggs
- ¼ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 15 oz Pureed pumpkin (1 can)
- ½ Cup Vegetable oil
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°
- Line your standard sized muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease with cooking spray
- You will need to mix your wet and dry ingredients separately so prevent lumps and to keep the bread soft. In a large bowl, combine your flour, sugar, spices, salt and baking soda together. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add your, pumpkin, oil and vanilla and whisk well until egg is well combined.
- Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and using a spatula, lightly mix until they are combined and flour pockets are gone. Do not over mix.
- Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop batter into prepared muffin wells. They should be filled up about ¾ full.
- Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for ten minutes before serving.
Variations
If you want you can also do some variations.
Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip
Turn your regular muffins into chocolate chip ones by adding a half cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
Brown Sugar Glaze
- 1 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
To make the glaze, add all your ingredients to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes before
Cream Cheese Icing
- ½ cup butter
- 8 oz softened cream cheese
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add your softened cream cheese, softened butter and vanilla into a stand mixer and and mix on medium with a paddle attachment. Lower speed and slowly add your powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully combined.
Other variations
You can also create different varieties by adding a half cup to one cup of any mix in such as chocolate chips, cranberries, or nuts. I’d start with a half cup and add more if desired. Some times add ins can be overwhelming so I suggest starting with a half cup first.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. This makes for a yummy fall breakfast or even afternoon snack for the kiddos. Be sure also to take a look at my Fall Bucket List before you leave.