Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

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Moist and tender pumpkin muffins made with real pumpkin and all the warm flavors of fall, topped with an irresistible pumpkin spice streusel.

Let me tell you a little bit about me and muffins.

The first summer I was a mom (with a newborn, no less), I had an absolute love affair with muffins.

It all started a few days after our first June-bug son was born when Matt brought me a lemon poppy seed muffin as a Sunday breakfast treat to have with my coffee (not only super convenient food while nursing but also easy calories since breastfeeding takes up, like, all of them!).

It was heavenly, and I asked him if he could get me another one when he went to the grocery store the next time.

Well, one muffin one Sunday turned into a few a week, which turned into one a day, and then, admittedly, continued to be one a day for the remainder of that summer (oops).

AND THEN, when I went back to work in September, I frequented the Dunkin that was right next door to our neighborhood nearly every morning. It was a problem.

My return to work that year and my birthday coincided perfectly with the return of Dunkin’s pumpkin muffins, so when I received a Dunkin gift card for my birthday, it fueled my pumpkin muffin obsession even more.

Have you ever had one of their pumpkin muffins? They are truly amazing. Not only are they perfectly moist, but they are also made with actual pumpkin.

No really, I looked up the Dunkin pumpkin muffin recipe on their website. After flour, pumpkin is listed as the second ingredient.

Hooray for real, authentic pumpkin flavor and not just a blend of spices to get the job done (these are no pumpkin spice muffins…. This is the real deal full throttle pumpkin muffin, friends!).

The only thing that I don’t absolutely love about Dunkin’s pumpkin muffins is the icing they put on top. So that fall, I decided to get to work in my kitchen to recreate this fabulous muffin myself, sans the icing, but definitely with all that textured streusel on top.

Since then, this pumpkin streusel muffin has been frequented annually by readers starting in August and going through November, likely by Dunkin pumpkin muffin fans looking to recreate that fabulous muffin at home and saving some major cash in the process (I love you, Dunkin muffins, but…).

WHAT IS IN THIS RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN MUFFINS?

When I sat down to develop this recipe, I started with a base recipe that I knew was a winner: my peach almond streusel muffins. Those muffins are light and fluffy, supremely moist, and that streusel on top is just heavenly.

I used the same ingredients for the streusel on these pumpkin muffins except I didn’t use any nuts and I spiced things up with both cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

For the muffins, I simply reduced the amount of milk in the recipe to allow for more real pumpkin. And you know how wet pumpkin puree is, right?

I didn’t want these muffins to wind up a soggy mess, so less milk was a perfect swap.

Another generous dose of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice make their way into the muffin itself to give the pumpkin flavor a little more “oomph.”

MY GO-TO METHOD FOR TALL, DOMED MUFFINS

In order to get these pumpkin muffins nice and tall, you’ll bake them at a high temp (400ºF/204ºC) for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 350ºF/177ºC for the remainder of the baking. This method encourages the muffins to stand tall while continuing to bake the inside of the muffin to pumpkin perfection.

If you’re making jumbo muffins, you can use this same method– see the recipe instructions for an adjusted bake time.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my own pumpkin streusel muffins were every bit as tasty as the ones I can get from Dunkin.

The texture is perfectly moist, the crumb is tender, the streusel on top is loaded with buttery, spicy flavor, and the inside of the muffins taste like real pumpkin.

And, on the plus side, they’re not too sweet in the slightest. Pure pumpkin flavor, sweetened just the right amount.

MAKE THEM JUMBO FOR A TRUE DUNKIN PUMPKIN MUFFIN COPYCAT

Now if you’re into that icing on top, I don’t blame you one bit, and you’re welcome to keep going to Dunkin or whip up your own at home (my homemade easy royal icing from this easy cut-out sugar cookies recipe would be the perfect choice), but I urge you to get these muffins in your oven pronto.

While this small batch pumpkin streusel muffins recipe makes 7 standard muffins, you can double the recipe and make 6 or 7 jumbo muffins to get those iconic pumpkin crumb muffins bakery style.

I always feel such a win when I can get something to come out of my kitchen that is the same or better than something I can buy, because it’s a win for my tastebuds and my wallet!

And while pumpkin is in season, I don’t see why these pumpkin streusel muffins shouldn’t be a staple on our kitchen counter (I know they’re one of the first things I make every year to kick off my pumpkin baking streak!).

Plus, now you don’t have to ask Siri “when are pumpkin muffins at Dunkin Donuts?” You can just always have them at the ready.

Just like my homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer.

Add these two things to your list and you never have to visit a coffee shop again! You can just turn your kitchen into a pumpkin breakfast factory. HOW FUN!

I’m anxious for you to get these pumpkin muffins with streusel topping happening at your house– I think you’ll be really impressed with how authentically “pumpkin” they are and double yay for spiced pumpkin muffins happening at any time of the year.

More pumpkin favorites: pumpkin spice Chex mix, pumpkin spice coffee creamer, pumpkin cream cold foam, and pumpkin swirl cheesecake.

4.63 from 8 votes

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Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Moist and tender pumpkin muffins made with real pumpkin and all the warm flavors of fall, topped with an irresistible pumpkin spice streusel.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Bake Time12 minutes mins

Total Time27 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 7 muffins

Ingredients

STREUSEL

• ▢ ⅓ cup (40g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter cold and cut into pieces
• ▢ 1 and ½ Tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt

MUFFINS

• ▢ 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅓ cup (67g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter melted
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature¹
• ▢ ½ cup pumpkin purée²
• ▢ 2 and ½ Tablespoons (38mL) milk
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
• Spray 7 wells of a 12-count muffin pans³ with non-stick spray or line the wells with cupcake liners. Set aside.

STREUSEL

• Place flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt into a small bowl.
• Using a fork, press ingredients together until butter is in small chunks. Use your fingers to pinch pieces together until streusel is mostly small crumbles. Some large crumbles are ok. Set aside.

MUFFINS

• In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and butter until smooth. Add the egg, pumpkin purée, milk, and vanilla extract and whisk again until everything is combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined.
• Spoon batter equally into prepared muffin pans. Add crumble to the top of each muffin, about 2-3 Tablespoons each. Bake muffins for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350ºF and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes until streusel starts to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Muffins will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days or in the refrigerator up to one week. Muffins freeze well, up to 2 months. Thaw in microwave for 45-60 seconds before eating.

Notes

1. Eggs: it is always a good rule of thumb to use room temperature eggs when using melted butter. To bring egg to room temperature quickly, place in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
2. Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with measuring cups as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
3. For a true Dunkin copycat: if you want bakery size pumpkin muffins, double the recipe and bake in a jumbo muffin pan and top with my easy royal icing (halve the recipe). Second bake time is 17-20 minutes. 

Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.