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
Absolutely delicious – I cut back on the sugar added a handful of raisins. Shared with the neighbors – big hit.
When making muffins & breads for snacks (not guests or gifts!) I often try to make them a little healthier by swapping about half the oil in recipes with greek yogurt (or pumpkin, mashed banana or applesauce). I scrolled through the comments and didn’t see anyone who’s tried this–thoughts on whether it would work? If not I’ll let you know. 🙂
One of the best pumpkin recipes I’ve ever made.
I added pecans to the batter and didn’t add icing
Thank you
Lovely muffins will be making again
This is the #1 recipe in our house! My kids LOVE Panera’s pumpkin muffins and these. That’s it….the only ones I can get them to eat. We don’t do the crumb topping or the icing, but we do add mini chocolate chips (1/2-3/4 cup) and my kids LOVE them – as in eat them every morning for breakfast all year round). We have found that this recipe does allow for some substitutions (melted butter for oil and using different types of flour such as half all purpose and half whole wheat). I almost always add in some ground flaxseed for good measure and like I said…my kids gobble them up.
Can you sub a gluten free flour?
Hi Susan, 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).
So Delish. I bought some fresh pumpkins at the farmers market. I added coconut oil instead of vegetable and did not use maple glaze. Will make again and again.
I made these with my toddler and we loved them! I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so I just mixed in a little ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamom. And we only had a jumbo muffin pan. They turned out great! This recipe is a keeper!
A dense, moist muffin that’s definitely not stodgy, these were delicious. I added chopped pecans to the crumb topping – excellent – and baked these in a popover pan (I baked them for 15 minutes at 350 degrees AFTER the initial 5 minutes on 425 degrees and it yielded 9 large muffins). I might decrease the powdered sugar in the glaze a bit or add a bit more maple syrup to get more maple flavor , but it was fine as is. I’ll certainly make them again!
This is the MOST delicious thing I have EVER baked in my life. If you’re reading this, you must try this recipe!!! Amazing, delicious. My 22 month old keeps asking for “ma pikin mofo”
Have you tried whole wheat flour? Could this be a equal substitute?
Hi Melissa, For the best taste and texture, I recommend all-purpose. Whole wheat will lend a denser, heartier muffin. You could try half all-purpose and half whole wheat as a starting point!
Hi Sally.
My 6 year old found a can of pumpkin puree in our cupboard and has been asking to make pumpkin muffins all week. We came across your recipe in our search and made them tonight and they turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe was awesome! I really liked the idea of adding a crumb topping. When I was making these, I didn’t quite have enough pumpkin spice. Thankfully, my mom whipped up her own. I also used maple syrup, vanilla extract, and extra cinnamon. It looks great and I can’t wait to try it. I am 13 y/o and this was perfect and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing!
These muffins are so yummy! My daughter loves these!! She is a pumpkin fan and this pumpkin recipe is her favorite by far. Delicious with the icing or without. Thank you so much for sharing
I think I’ve made these about 5 times now! (Just in the last 2 months!) It is seriously the best pumpkin muffins I have ever had! And the recipes is super easy, my 2 year old loves to help me make them!
This recipe was seriously delicious. Mine turned out so moist and wonderful! The crumb topping is unbelievable and takes the muffins up a notch! I love that the recipe makes 15 – I gifted 6 and still had tons left for myself! For a sightly less sugar-y version do you think I would be able to half the sugars? Would you adjust the milk and oil as well? Let me know and thank you!!
Nice job! I sure can’t argue with this muffin. I love the texture–it is not too light like cake, but not too dense and heavy like a quick bread. My only adjustment was the addition of 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts to the batter.
So excited to explore the rest of the site while I sit home and bake (and eat) during quarantine. Thanks!
Made these in jumbo size so had to bake about 8 minutes longer. They were fabulous! Didn’t use the icing but the crumb topping put them over the “top”. My family loved them too. Thanks so much for a great recipe.
These taste great!
I have made these and either made them more than once or also made another recipe of yours with crumb topping, and I notice it’s really wet. Mine always globs together into one giant crumb blog and makes it hard to sprinkle — I have to crumble it over the top. Any tips? I think most crumb toppings I’ve made before use solid butter. I’m wondering about the science for the melted? It still tastes great!
Easy to follow directions, delicious, & the perfect amount of sweet!
Can I make the base recipe of these (without the crumble and icing) and add chocolate chips?
Yes you sure can, Mia.
My children do NOT like pumpkin. They ate these right up and asked for seconds. Wonderful recipe and the best-tasting muffins I have ever had.
Can I substitute sweet potatoes for the pumpkin?
Puréed sweet potatoes work, yes.
I opted to use chia “eggs” in place of chicken. As well as soy milk. They came out beautiful and fluffy! Plus you get the added nutrients of thr chia seed.
Wonderful recipe. Easy to follow and delicious. A huge hit with everyone in the family. One of the best muffins I’ve ever made–moist and delicious! (I did just throw the entire can of pumpkin in, as I did not want to waste 3 oz.)
I made these muffins and shared them with my sister in law and niece. They both loved them. My husband, who says he doesn’t like anything pumpkin, also loved them. Great recipe. I will definitely make them again.
These muffins got rave reviews, but I worried I didn’t cook them quite long enough. They were so moist, there was some moisture on the outside. I don’t think this is normal, but they tasted great and everyone loved them. I put them in the oven a few minutes before serving for my family, but for give-aways, it’s a bit worrisome. Would like to know what caused this. Thanks for your help.
This recipe worked perfectly – I got exactly 15 muffins, and the cooking time was accurate too (although I’ll note that the crumb and drizzle recipe is enough for two batches, or maybe I just wasn’t putting enough on). It is fantastically delicious, too. Definitely a keeper recipe. I love that Sally includes weight measurements, it makes baking so much easier!
I would like to make these as a bread instead of muffins. What would the baking time and temperature be?
I recommend following the baking time and temperature for pumpkin bread.
I made your pumpkin cake recipe in a giant cupcake and added the crumb topping from this cupcake recipe in the center! HOLY DELICIOUSNESS!!! I ended up leaving the top of the cupcake on the side as the crunchy pumpkin part and did home made cream cheese frosting for the outside of the giant cupcake part!!!
So now, since it was such a hit for my sons birthday , I am making the crumb topping muffins for Thanksgiving tomorrow
I am making these muffins for the second time this month. They were delicious. Everyone in the family loved them.
All I can say is OMG these are absolutely divine! Best pumpkin anything I’ve ever made!
These were delicious! I was a bit worried they’d be too sweet with the crumb topping and the icing, but they were perfect!