The recipe for these Simply Perfect Pumpkin Muffins has been my go-to classic pumpkin muffin recipe for years. Lovely and moist, perfectly domed and with a lightly crispy top, they are my idea of the perfect pumpkin muffin.
When it comes to pumpkin muffins, I’m a purist. My go-to pumpkin muffin recipe for years has been these Simply Perfect Pumpkin Muffins. They are what I crave when the weather cools. Slightly warm. With butter. And a cup of tea.
So what makes this muffin simply perfect? It’s perfectly pumpkin, but simply spiced (just a good spoonful of cinnamon), so no worry about different tastes in spices or spice levels. It’s lovely and moist, but not greasy like some pumpkin muffins. It has a lovely light texture. It’s perfectly domed, so it’s always pretty (and pretty counts!). And finally, it has a lovely, lightly crispy top when enjoyed freshly baked. Perfect for pulling of pieces to enjoy.
Tried, tested and reliable, this is a great recipe to enjoy at home, or since it makes a large batch, to make for bake sales or to have lots to share with friends, family and/or neighbours :)
Cook’s Notes for Simply Perfect Pumpkin Muffins
This recipe makes a large batch. 18 muffins, to be exact. While I have never tried a half recipe, I suspect you could do so without problem. What I do though is bake the big batch and freeze some and gift some. A good pumpkin muffin in the Fall makes a great gift ;)
As mentioned, these muffins freeze beautifully!
As also mentioned, the yield of 18 muffins may be tricky for some. I use three 6-cup muffin tins that just barely fit side-by-side one one rack in my oven. A 12 and a 6 would also work, of course. If you need to bake two batches using a 12 cup muffin tin, be sure to fill the empty muffin cups half full with water before putting in the oven, to ensure even baking.
I especially love these muffins freshly baked, when they have a lightly crispy top. While the crispy top diminishes as they sit, the muffin itself is still lovely and moist and every bit as enjoyable.
When filling the muffin cups/liners, you’ll be filling them to almost the top of the liner, leaving just a bit of the liner exposed. If you divide the batter evenly between 18 muffin liners, you’ll have the perfect size.
Be sure to spray/grease the top of your muffin tin before lining and adding batter, so these large muffins release easily.
I always line the muffins cups with muffin liners, but if you don’t have any, as there is a good amount of oil in these, you probably could bake without paper lines without problem. Just allow to cool in the pan a little more before removing.
If you’re a raisin in pumpkin muffins fan, feel free to stir in some plumped raisins (see below!) before adding the batter to the tins.
How to Plump Raisins
When adding raisins to baking, it’s always nice to plump the raisins before adding. The process of plumping simply returns some moisture to the dried fruit and makes them especially pleasant and soft. To plump raisins, simply soak in very hot tap water for about 15 minutes, then drain and dry well between a couple of sheets of paper towel. If you’d like to infuse flavour while plumping your raisins, add a bit of alcohol or liqueur to the soaking water.
More Pumpkin Recipes
Love baking with pumpkin? Me, too! Here are a few more of pumpkin recipes from the Seasons and Suppers archives …
Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Biscotti
Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Simply Perfect Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil or canola, sunflower oil etc.
- 1 3/4 cups pure pumpkin puree not pie filling
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Prepare 18 muffin cups by greasing (both cup and top of tin) or lining with paper liners and lightly greasing top of tin. (These are fairly moist so paper liners are not really necessary unless you prefer.) Set prepared pans aside.
- Beat eggs slightly in a large bowl. Add sugar, oil and pumpkin and beat thoroughly. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Divide the batter between 18 muffin cups. You'll be filling them almost to the top of the liners, with just a bit of the liner showing.
- Bake at 375° F. for 22 – 25 minutes, testing with a cake tester to be sure they are cooked before removing from oven (If undercooked, they will collapse as they cool, so be sure to test. They will look done even when they’re not actually). Muffins should be very lightly browned on top and around edges when cooked. My oven is usually 25 minutes.
- Allow to cool in pans at least 5 minutes before removing from pans, as they are quite soft when hot.
- These are at their best on the day they are baked. They lose their crunchy top as they sit too long at room temperature. If you aren’t eating right away, freezing is a good option to keep the crunch.
Shal says
Hi Jennifer, how do you recommend thawing from freezing and eating? Leave it in the fridge overnight and eat the next day? Reheat in microwave? Thanks!
Jennifer says
Hi Shal, If I only want one, I generally just take it out of the freezer and set it on the counter for 20-30 minutes. If I want it faster, I will pop in the microwave for just 10 seconds or so. For a whole frozen bag or container, yes, I would probably pop in the fridge overnight, then onto the counter to take the cool edge off them.
Nolan says
Turned out awesome! Thanks!
Jennifer says
Happy to hear! Thanks :)
Ren says
This is my go-to recipe for both pumpkin muffins and banana muffins (substitute the same amount of banana for the pumpkin). I also add a tablespoon of vanilla, and it’s absolutely perfect. Thank you! :D
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Ren! And I love the idea of using it with banana, too. I’ll be trying that :) Thanks!
Dan says
Hey Miss Jennifer
I just used your recipe to make the muffins and I have zero regrets! They are absolutely amazing! I used fresh pumpkin and added a tablespoon of brown sugar to the mix instead of the full two cups of white sugar, and it’s fantastic! Definitely keeping this recipe for future use!
Jennifer says
Hi Dan, so good to know! I have zero experience starting with fresh pumpkin (canned pumpkin is just too handy here :), so great to know it doesn’t need pre-cooking. So much easier. Thanks so much!
Jean-Nicolas says
Best pumpkin muffins we ever tasted! I replace 1/3 of flour with powdered chia seeds & add 1/2 tsp of nutmeg & 1/2 tsp of ginger & sprinkle brown sugar on top before cooking! MMmmmmMmmMmm soooooooo gooooood!!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much :)
Shaz says
I have a fan assisted oven. Baked for 20 minutes and they were a bit over cooked. Next time will reduce temperature. ….. that aside, they tasted delicious. Thanks for the recipe :)
Jennifer says
Thanks Shaz and yes, all of my recipes are written for non-fan-assisted time/temp. Reducing 25 degrees F should do the trick for fan-assisted.
Rama says
Hello, do you cook the pumpkin before making it into a purée?
Jennifer says
Hi Rama, this recipe is assuming you would be using canned pumpkin puree (which is cooked, of course). I understand canned pumpkin is unavailable in some areas of the world. If you are in that area then yes, you would cook the pumpkin and puree before using in these muffins :)
Dan says
Hey Rama – I just made these muffins and they turned out fantastic. I didn’t cook the pumpkin at all. I gutted the pumpkin on the table (removing the seeds of course), puréed it in the blender, and went from there. I’m sure they would turn out great if you pre-cooked the pumpkin, but from my experience it’s not necessary
Collette says
Absolutely brilliant recipe, I couldn’t believe how easy, my nephew tells everyone he hates pumpkin 🎃 he had 4 before I told him lol. I am going to try carrot next v
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Collette! Thanks so much :)
Collette says
Just a quick message, do you think I could use any other type of sugar? Here in Scotland/ uk we use caster sugar in baking which is finer also all purpose flour is equivalent to our plain flour do you think you could use self raising and take out baking powder ?
Although your measurements are perfect I would be worried to change it.
I’m going to try carrot ones and also apples, will let you know how they turn out !!😄
Jennifer says
Hi Collette, so Google is saying that caster sugar can be used 1:1 for the white sugar, if you prefer. It may change the texture slightly, but probably not significantly. As for the flour, my thought would be to stick with the plain flour + baking powder, as self-raising is also salted and this recipe has no added salt (though there is some sodium in the pumpkin). Using self-raising may result in a too salty muffin. Hope that helps :)
Corrie says
I made this and it’s really amazing. I added nutmeg, allspice and 1/4 of sea salt. I used the left over butter nut squash we had for dinner. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Corrie :)
Lada says
Thank you so much for sharing this Jennifer!! My first-time-ever-muffins turned out to be a 100% success on the Thanksgiving potluck <3 they are amazing, thank you so very much!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Lada! Thanks so much :)
Sharin says
Hi there !
This recipe for pumpkin muffins really caught my eye…so much so that I will be making them to share after our Sunday Thanksgiving day service.
I wondered what your thoughts would be about dipping the tops in melted butter and then sprinkling with white sugar OR a dollop of cream cheese on top OR any other ideas you may have and would be willing to share…
Many thanks
Sharin
Jennifer says
Hi Sharin, I know it’s hard to believe this without having tried these muffins, but these ones need absolutely nothing else. Not even a smear of butter on it. These are already a simply perfect pumpkin muffin, just as they are and doing anything else too them would be unnecessary. Hope you’ll trust me on this :) Your guests will love them!
Matricia Kennedy says
Do you think the recipe would still turn out if I halved the amount of sugar??
Jennifer says
Hi Matricia, as a general rule, you can probably reduce the sugar in muffins/cakes by 20-25% without creating significant issues. Do note though that in addition to reducing the overall sweetness of the muffin, reducing sugar will also reduce both the moistness and shelf-life of the finished muffins. Reducing by 50% is moving into territory that will likely affect the quality of the finished muffin more significantly. As I’ve never done it myself, I can’t tell you exactly what that looks like. The only way to know is to try it and decide if the finished product is acceptable to you.
Lisa says
I halved this receipe and it turned out great! Made 10 large muffins. I did not reduce the cinnamon and added 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg and allspice. Lovely muffins! Will definitely make again!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Lisa :) Thanks!
Tori Smith says
I am missing October and the pumpkin flavored everything, was excited to find this recipe. My son and I love these muffins! Feels like fall in this freezing winter weather here. Thank you for sharing your recipe :)
Jennifer says
I miss October, too :) So glad you are enjoying these. Thanks!
Jen says
I made these muffins for the first time, and they were good. The second time: I added 1 tsp. vanilla and 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and they were AMAZING! It’s a great recipe, thank you so much Jennifer!!!
Jennifer says
Sounds delicious, Jen! Thanks :)
Sarah says
These are amazing! I added a cup or so of gently crushed pecan nuts and they were awesome!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed them, Sarah :) Thanks!
Lindsay Silzer-Baldwin says
I had pumpkins I wasn’t able to carve for Halloween so I cooked them and pureed them. Not wanting to make generic pumpkin pie I searched high and low for a basic simple pumpkin muffin recipe.
Low and behold yours was the winner.
So simple. I had to double the recipe as I was short 1/4 cup of puree from what id thawed already so I made a tonne of minis along with the normal size.
10-12 mins for the minis seems sufficient to give them a nice golden brown colour!
Huge hit. My husband and 1 year old daughter put back so many! My husband even grabbed a big one straight out of the hot pan because he couldn’t wait!
Can’t wait to see what the real judge, my 10 year old son, thinks of the muffins when he gets home from his bio dad’s!
I have one more small pumpkin left to cook and I know what I’ll be using the puree for!!! ❤️
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Lindsay! Thanks :)
Scott says
These are wonderful muffins and so easy to make. I am a calorie counter, do you know how many calories are in a muffin.
Jennifer says
Thanks Scott and so glad you enjoyed them. My recipe card software calculates the calories to 202 (it’s displayed in the header of all the recipe cards as “Energy”). I would suggest running through your favourite calorie counting tool yourself though, as I can’t vouch for the accuracy (and would depend on how many muffins you got from a batch).
Nicole Shuglo says
Thank you for this amazing recipe- I have been making these muffins constantly since finding it- always a hit in my house!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Nicole :) Thanks!
Irene says
These are fantastic muffins! And easy to make!
I made these last year and they got rave reviews from the recipients. Decided to repeat this year with same comments!
Made 6 regular muffins (for us!) and 48 mini muffins.
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying them! These are the only pumpkin muffins I ever make :) Thanks!
Annika says
Lovely recipe. I had a can of pumpkin in the cupboard that I needed to use. Now I have bought more canned pumpkin just to make this recipe (plus my cat loves pumpkin). The muffins were very light and moist and tasty.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Annika! So glad you enjoyed them :)
Sue says
Sorry Jennifer, in my previous comment I forgot to ask how many raisins do you recommend adding to this recipe?
Jennifer says
I think 1 1/2 – 2 cups of raisins would be good :)
Sue says
I plan to try this delicious sounding recipe. I love the idea of adding raisins that have been plumped up with added alcohol or liqueur. Can you recommend what alcohol or liqueur would taste best with pumpkin and how much of it to add with the hot water?
Jennifer says
Hmmmm … my first thought was some sort of nut-based liqueur (maybe hazelnut), or there’s the maple one (Sortilège) or some more basic ones – rum or whiskey. Depends on your taste :) Enjoy!