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
I haven’t made these yet, but I have a question. I LOVE maple icing on donuts, but I don’t like maple syrup, and so I never have it in the house. Call me crazy, right? So I was wondering if I made the icing with maple extract, would that change the flavor too much, or would it be an acceptable substitute?
Hi Diana! We haven’t tested it but you should be able to use maple extract in the glaze instead of maple syrup. You’ll need much less, so add to taste.
Question: has anyone used the Loranns Pumpkin Spice Bakery Emulsion?
I love this recipe and have made then4 times now . They melt in your mouth and flavor is fabulous! I definitely will be making this for Thanksgiving brunch.
I have just made these but they came out more pudding like than cake like (as per your picture). Did I do something wrong
Hi Shirley, did you happen to make any ingredient substitutions? If they are pudding-like, it sounds like they need some extra time in the oven. Once a toothpick has been inserted in the middle and comes out clean, the muffins are done.
I didn’t substitute anything and a toothpick did come out clean. Will try again, did wonder if over mixing could cause this.
Made these without the icing and they’re SO GOOD!! Not too sweet, perfect texture. My only complaint is they are a little bland, next time (this weekend) I will add a tsp of vanilla and touch more pumpkin pie spice. Devine with a cup of coffee!!
Made these and added in 1/2 tsp vanilla and almond extracts. I also added in 1/4 cup more pumpkin purée as I felt the 1 1/2 cup didn’t give me the deep pumpkin flavor I wanted. Finally I added in some chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds. They came out delicious!
Can they be defrosted in the microwave?these pumpkin muffins are the best in the world. Love the maple syrup icing !!!thank you for this recipe it’s a keeper!!!
Hi Marilyn! You certainly can, though we find they can thaw unevenly in the microwave. Let us know if you give it a go!
Can you use whole wheat flour?
Hi Karen! You can use whole wheat flour, but the muffins will be quite dense. We’d recommend trying a batch with half all-purpose flour / half whole wheat flour first to see how those turn out for you. Let us know how it goes!
Can I adjust this to add chopped pineapple & peaches?
Hi Kitty! Adding chopped pineapple and peaches would add quite a bit of extra moisture to this already moist batter and may require some testing. For a non-pumpkin based, but similar, muffin recipe you could try these peach streusel muffins (subbing some pineapple for peaches).
Made these for the first time today and they came out great! Love the flavor and texture. The only issue I had was that some of the crumb topping (near the sides of muffin) fell off when removing from pan. I’m wondering if I either didn’t press them in firmly enough or if I left the crumbles too large. They just seemed to totally separate from the muffin. Will definitely make again!
Just made these exactly as the recipe states. Best pumpkin muffin I’ve ever tasted!
I’ve made these Pumpkin crumb muffins too many times to count. I double the recipe to make 12 jumbo muffins and they are a big hit at both my adult children’s work place. Thank you Sally for so many amazing recipes. They are all amazingly yummy and the directions are concise and clear.
So simple to make and delicious!! I followed the recipe almost exactly – I just didn’t let the eggs and milk come to room temp, but I don’t think it mattered. They turned out perfect! Definitely a keeper recipe!
Hi,
What should the temp and time be for mini muffins? Would love to make little ones
Hi Jamie! For mini muffins, bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F (177°C) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Just made these muffins but substituted the pumpkin purée for baked sweet potato. I had too much leftover sweet potato from a pie I made. These came out super delicious. The whole family loved them. I did have to add more milk because the batter was a little too thick. But all in all these were amazing!
Just made these muffins but substituted the pumpkin purée for baked sweet potato. I had too much leftover sweet potato from a pie I made. These came out super delicious. The whole family loved them. I did have to add more milk because the batter was a little too thick. But all in all these were amazing!
How do you store these? I have used both plastic/glass containers and baggies and it seems to make the muffins too moist where the crumbs on top aren’t as crisp anymore. Any suggestions?
Hi Megan, if you leave a corner of the container you’re using open, or leave the plastic bag open a bit, it will help keep the muffins from getting too moist. Storing them int he fridge will help, too!
Reheating them in an air fryer works wonders for any type of crumb topping. They will taste freshly baked every time!
This are delicious! Though I did a little changes… My husband loved them
I just made these and they were amazing! So tender so moist, highly recommended. My family doesn’t like things to sweet so I reduce the sugar just a bit but oh my delicious! Right amount of pumpkin flavour, well done on the recipe
How much did you reduce the sugar? I would like to also!
How many mini muffins does this make?
These were really good! Next time we’ll make them with a bit more of the crumb coat and about 2/3 of the glaze since there was just so much more than is pictured! This easily makes 16 muffins instead of 15 if you need even numbers for partial batches.
Can you bake these in a jumbo muffin pan? I can’t find a recipe for bakery style pumpkin muffins on those website.
Hi Lyla, absolutely. You can use this recipe and follow the general baking instructions from these jumbo blueberry muffins. Enjoy!
Hi! Can I freeze the raw batter with the streusel topping in the muffin liners for 2 weeks before baking them? Thank you.
Hi Tiff, we don’t recommend it. Freezing batter is not ideal, as the leaveners are activated once wet. You can, however, freeze the baked muffins. See recipe notes for details.
Thank you!
hi! i would love to make these to share. would it be possible to double this recipe or should i make it twice in separate batches ?
Hi Maggie, we recommend separate batches for best results. Enjoy!
Hi Maggie,
I have a little baking gig on the side. Last month I made 6 double batches in one morning for my clients.
Worked well for me. I love this recipe….its definitely a keeper for this Maui girl.
I made this recipe last year and loved it! Making it again in mini muffin form tomorrow. Can this recipe be cut in half? I’ve had trouble reducing other recipes before.
Hi Caroline, you should be able to halve this recipe with no problems. Glad you enjoy this one!
Wow wow wow these are amazing. These will definitely be a fall staple.
Hello Sally,
Can I make this recipe using it in a loaf pan?
If so what would be the amount of time I’d need to bake it and at what temperature?
Hi Jessica, you sure can! We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but it should be similar to our pumpkin bread recipe.
Amazing! I look forward to every opportunity I have to make these. I make these gluten free by simply substituting the flour for Robin Hood’s gluten free all purpose flour. Turns out perfect every time and is a great crowd pleaser. Next I’m going to try making them in a loaf pan/cake form!
I just made these (mini muffin version) they’re so delicious and moist. Definitely will be making thjs recipe again. I didn’t ice them just put the crumb topping on the tops and it was perfect!
I was wondering what the nutrition facts for this recipe is.?
Hi Tori, so glad you love these! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I haven’t tried these yet, but will be making them for a meeting in a couple of weeks. Wanting to make something “bite-size” as there will be several items on the table to choose from. Do you think I could make these in a mini muffin pan, and, if so, what adjustments would need to be made, especially with regard to baking temp/time. Thank you. I make your no-knead bread often with different additions, always a huge hit!
Hi Mary Lou, Absolutely! There’s no need for the initial higher temperature for minis. Bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F (177°C) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Absolutely everything that I was looking for in a pumpkin crumb muffin.
I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and left off the icing. I did add a bit more of the pumpkin pie spice, as suggested and a teaspoon of pure vanilla.
These are dense, moist and full of flavor. My husband RAVED about these.