Pumpkin Muffins with Nutmeg and Brown Butter Crumble

I don’t know if it was my son driving his paw patrol through the bowl of flour or what but these muffins are some of the best pumpkin muffins i’ve ever made.

I know, I know I say that about all the muffins I make.. (see blueberry muffins here) but i’m not joking around. They are dense, moist and have the perfect chew to crumb ratio. Even though back in 2019 I said that these were the best pumpkin muffins….. These pumpkin muffins, “leveled up”.

The crumble is heavier and the brown sugar gives it more of a molasses type taste to it. I made an icing with the maple syrup which was (Pun intended) the icing on the cake. Also you cannot go wrong with browned butter. Brown butter makes everything better.

Things with a toddler take twice million times longer than just doing it by yourself but otto loves helping me in the kitchen. I’ve found that when he gets to help he is more willing to try new things. You know, branch out from chicken nuggets and hot dogs. Things will take a lot longer and there will be a lot more clean up but there is nothing like Otto standing on his stool next to me singing “maaaaking muffins” while driving his rubble dozer through the bowl of flour. I didn’t take these to the office they were devoured at home for breakfast over the week.

This recipe made one dozen muffins and nine of the pumpkin muffins made it into storage. I stored them in a tupperware style container in the fridge and they kept about 4 days (that’s also how long it took us to eat them). The three that didn’t make into the fridge had their sugary toppings savagely ripped off and eaten by a toddler while they sat on a cooling rack. Otto’s feeding issues gets him away with a lot of trickery because it still makes me so happy that he’s willing to eat and try new things. He could at least have the decency to eat the entire muffin and not just the top right? He would do well on that Seinfeld episode. (top of the muffin to ya!)

Listed below is everything you are going to need for these epic muffins.

Ingredients for Muffins:
1.75 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I used fresh ground you won’t believe the difference it makes)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1 15oz  can of pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 cup of whole milk

Ingredients for crumble:
3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Icing
1.5 cups of confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of whole milk

1. Preheat your oven to 425F and spray 12 cupcake liners and place in the muffin tin. This recipe for me, made exactly 12 muffins.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, spices and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk until combined. In a separate bowl, mix the sugars, oil, pumpkin puree, eggs and milk together. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all the flour is incorporated together. Spoon the batter into the liners until a few millimeters from the top.
3. Make the crumb topping by whisking the dry ingredients together. Slowly brown the butter over the stove. It will go fast! Never leave butter you are trying to brown unattended. It turns quicker than you think.  Add in the butter and sift with a fork until crumbs form. If you stir it too hard it will become like a paste. The goal is to keep it crumby. Spoon the crumble on the muffins and remove any misplaced ones from the pan (it will be a pain to scrub the baked ones off). I used my fingers to gently press the crumb into the muffin.
4. Bake for 5 minutes at the 425 then without opening the oven turn head to 350F and bake for an additional 17 minutes. Let muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes while you whip up the icing.
5. For the icing whisk all the ingredients until smooth. If it still feels really thick add a touch more syrup so you can get a nice drizzle. Place the muffins on a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath to catch the icing. While the muffins are still warm to the touch, swish your whisk in the icing and gently shake over top of the muffins to give the drizzle effect. Let cool completely before storing.

original recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction.