These super soft pumpkin crumb cake muffins are topped with pumpkin spice crumbs and finished with sweet maple icing. They’re a reader favorite and after baking one batch, you’ll understand why!
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos and more success tips.
Let’s be honest: the crumbs are the best part of crumb cake.
At least, that’s what I thought… until I created these. Underneath the crumbly pumpkin spice topping is an irresistible pumpkin muffin—soft, moist, and full of fall flavor. And when you add the maple icing? Forget about any other breakfast food (unless you’re making a batch of these baked pumpkin donuts!).
Readers’ Favorite Pumpkin Muffins
Like clockwork, September rolls around and we all go crazy for these pumpkin crumb cake muffins. They’re the perfect combination of everything we love about fall. Their ease and flavor also help us transition into the chillier months.
Here’s why you’ll love them:
- The batter is based off of my pumpkin bread—it’s SO good
- Easy to make and no mixer required
- Ready in less than one hour
- Soft and moist thanks to power ingredients like pumpkin, oil, eggs, and milk
- Topped with pumpkin spice crumbs + maple icing (you could also leave them plain and you’ll basically have my regular pumpkin muffins)
- Delicious as a breakfast, snack, or dessert
- Packed with warm and cozy fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
How to Make Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins
Instead of using my iced pumpkin coffee cake recipe as the base, I turned to my pumpkin bread. I LOVE using that bread recipe to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. All you do here is take out the chocolate chips, reduce the sugar, and use milk instead of orange juice. Though you could definitely use orange juice if you’d like! (Orange juice provides incredible flavor to the bread, trust me on that one.)
Made with basic ingredients, these pumpkin muffins come together quickly.
Mix the dry ingredients together. This includes lots of spice flavor and you can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here.
Whisk the wet ingredients together. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then fill the muffin cups—almost full, but leave room for the topping.
Make the crumb topping. Spoon it evenly onto each muffin, pressing the crumbs into the tops. Bake, then whisk the 3 icing ingredients together. Drizzle and serve.
Pumpkin Spice Crumb Topping
If you thought crumb topping couldn’t get any better, think again. We’re topping pumpkin crumb cake muffins with pumpkin spice crumbs. YES!
We use oil in the muffins themselves for extra moisture, but we use melted butter in the crumb topping. Why? FLAVOR. The crumb topping also has brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, and pumpkin pie spice. (Like my traditional crumb cake topping but with pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon.) There are repeat ingredients used in the muffins, so this is not only an easy recipe, it’s a convenient one too. By the way, this crumb topping would be fantastic on zucchini muffins and these chocolate pumpkin muffins, too.
I reduced the sugar in these muffins because they’re getting an extra dose of sweet from the crumb topping and maple icing. With that, I also reduced the salt to make sure the muffins didn’t taste salty with less sugar.
Optional Maple Icing
“Optional” might not be the right word here, because the icing seeping into the crumb topping is outstanding. While the muffins are wonderful on their own, I highly recommend the quick maple drizzle for an extra indulgent finish.
You could also try the maple icing on these mini pumpkin muffins, too.
Be sure to enjoy a batch with a cup of coffee and homemade pumpkin coffee creamer for the ultimate fall breakfast!
More Crumb Lover Recipes
- Coffee Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Crumb Cake Donuts
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Crumb Cake Muffins
- Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake
- Zucchini Crumb Cake
- Crumb Coffee Cake
Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 15 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and moist pumpkin crumb cake muffins with pumpkin pie spice and maple icing topping.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) canned pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk, at room temperature*
Crumb Topping
- 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
Maple Icing (optional)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 15 muffins, so prepare a second muffin pan in the same manner. Set aside.
- Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain.
- Spoon the batter into liners, filling them almost full.
- Make the crumb topping: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice together until combined. Using a fork, lightly mix in the melted butter until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix. Spoon crumbs evenly on top of the batter and gently press them down into the batter so they’re snug.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21-22 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan as you make the icing. *For mini muffins, bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F (177°C) the entire time.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together until combined and smooth. Drizzle over muffins and serve warm. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins (with or without icing) for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm up in the microwave if desired. Top with icing before serving if needed.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Spatula | Whisk
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice in the muffin batter. Do not leave out the 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon that is also in the muffin batter. The crumb topping also uses pumpkin pie spice and, again, if you don’t have store-bought or homemade, use 1/4 teaspoon of each of those spices and add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon too.
- Milk: Any milk works. I’ve tested with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, whole milk, and skim milk. You can use any, dairy or non.
Reader Comments and Reviews
DELICIOUS!!! So moist, wonderful flavor! Thank you!
We have Bake Sales where I work to raise the funds needed for our yearly Christmas Party & Summer Picnic – I doubled the recipe and made Jumbo size Muffins which came out so good that they sold for $3.00 each. They sold out of them by lunchtime ~ thanks for another winner Sally!!
Many thanks for this recipe! Can these muffins stay outside of the fridge overnight to be eaten the next morning?
Hi Vanessa, see step 6 of the instructions – cover tightly and store at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. That will be just fine. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I made these with whole wheat and oat flour. I used sugar substitutes for both granular and brown sugar (my husband is diabetic) They turned out amazing. Even my kids love them.
Could you make this in a bread loaf pan?
Hi Kassy, yes, you can use this batter in a 9×5-inch loaf pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but you can use this pumpkin bread as a guide.
This is the best thing I have ever baked – thank you so much for the recipe!!
Tomorrow is my birthday and I’m taking these to work. My hubby had to taste test LOL….. said thes were delish!!
Made these tonight and they were delicious! The instructions were simple and easy to follow. Thank you Sally!
These were so amazing! Everyone in my family loved them and were a huge hit at my Halloween party! People even asked if they were from a bakery. Totally recommend
The muffins were a hit at my house. But just wanting to know how can I make them more moist?
Outstanding, and pretty simple. The crumb and the maple icing were so good with the pumpkin muffin. The muffin itself was perfectly fluffy and moist. My husband thought they were from a bakery!
Sally, quick question – can they be made bakery style – large? Idea on length of cooking time?
Hi Deborah, absolutely — you can follow the bake time from these jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide. Enjoy!
Can you use any type of milk for this recipe?
Hi Jennie! See Notes after the recipe: Any milk works. I’ve tested with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, whole milk, and skim milk. You can use any, dairy or non.
Have you tried this recipe with gluten free flour or almond flour or received any feedback on swapping the flour?
Hi Lisa! Almond flour has very different baking properties, so we wouldn’t recommend that. You can try using your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour instead if you need them to be gluten free. We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but know some readers have had success using 1:1 GF flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup or Bob’s Red Mill).
These are incredible! I’ve made a lot of pumpkin muffins in my life and these are top of the list. They’re moist and the crumb adds a lovely crunch. Instead of the maple icing I made an espresso glaze (instant espresso in hot milk + powdered sugar) and the end result tastes like a pumpkin latte in a muffin wrapper.
Have you ever tried to sub the oil for the applesauce?
Hi Felicia, You can try subbing the applesauce for oil, but the cake will not be as moist and may even taste a bit rubbery.
Can you make this in a cake pan
Hi Sharon, we’d recommend using our pumpkin crumb cake recipe instead. Enjoy!
These are so yummy!
They freeze well even with the icing on
Hi! Can we make the pumpkin puree by steaming and mashing a pumpkin at home? It’s not easy to find canned puree where I live.
Hi Neethi, yes, that should be just fine!
Can you only put the icing on before you serve or can you store the muffins with the icing on top? If not, how long can the icing stay by itself in a bottle on the fridge?
Hi Gabby, you can store the muffins with icing on them, but for best taste and texture, it’s usually best to top them with icing just before serving (the icing may melt/dissolve a bit into the top of the muffin). The icing can stay in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!
Best pumpkin muffins ever! Everyone loves them, but they are my granddaughter, Kinzey’s favorite! She asks for these every time – all year round! I add chocolate chips to the batter (Kinzey’s request) and use heavy cream instead of milk. They are super moist and gone in no time.
I notice you suggest making the muffins before the topping – is that so that the batter has to rest 10 or so minutes? Also is it ok to put the crumb topping in the fridge a few minutes first?
Hi Eileen, you can make the topping first so that it has a few minutes to chill in the refrigerator while you’re making the batter. Not a problem!
Flavor was great! They had trouble baking and had to be cooked way longer than called for.
Just made these muffins! They turned out amazing! Everything went just as described and they turned out to be the fluffiest pumpkin muffins! I used whole wheat flour because I didn’t have enough all-purpose flour and I cut the icing amount in half, again because I didn’t have enough powdered sugar. My kids, I have 6, and husband said they were the best muffins ever! And I bake a lot so that says something. Thank you Sally for all of your recipes!
We’re so glad these were a hit, Angela! Thanks for giving this recipe a try.
Can I use half whole wheat for these?
Hi Sonia, yes, that should work!
So good!! Substituted avocado oil for the vegetable oil, and it turned out great. Mine made 12 nice size muffins. I chilled the crumb while making the batter (suggested in Sally’s recent crumb muffin recipe), and I did not lose a single crumb while baking. So moist, not too sweet. Don’t skip the maple glaze, although I halved the recipe – adds a nice touch, and it gives the muffins a more “finished” look. Don’t just make these in the fall. Pumpkins should be year round. 🙂
Can I use avocado oil instead of canola/vegetable oil?
Hi Caroline, absolutely. Same amount.
I made this recipe last night. It was a huge hit with my picky family. I didn’t add the icing because it was plenty sweet and yummy without. Recipe says it makes 15, but It was the perfect amount for 12. It didn’t spill over and make a mess.
I love all your recipes. When I google a recipe if it has Sally’s, that is the one I pick
My whole family Absolutely loves these muffins, I highly recommend them!
Hi! So excited for this recipe! Can I make it with homemade pumpkin puree? Unfortunately, where I live, I cannot find canned.
Hi Zuba, it should work. Other readers have reported making fresh pumpkin puree this way: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-puree-recipe-1922629