The Best Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Brace yourself for The Best Pumpkin Streusel Muffins. I know, it’s a big assertion. But these gems are super simple to throw together, super moist, super fall spice-y, have a heady lid of streusel (my fav) and a drizzle of the most delicious boozy, bourbon drizzle (that you can make booze free if you’re not into it!).

Whew. Are we ready to dive in? Let’s get to it…

Pumpkin Streusel Muffin Key Ingredients

Light Brown Sugar

Also called, golden or dark brown sugar, brown sugar is granulated sugar that’s had molasses added to it. The molasses is what lends those beautiful bronze shades, delicious flavor and gives it some extra moisture.

For this recipe I specify light brown sugar, but in a pinch you could use dark brown sugar if that’s what you have available. Using the latter will draw out even more intense caramel and molasses notes that I love so much.

I have a deeepppp love and appreciation for what brown sugar does to sweet treats. It’s magic. In this recipe we used golden brown sugar in the streusel and the muffin base for mega flavor and because it pairs so beautifully with pumpkin and fall spices.

Granulated Sugar

Granulated sugar doesn’t just sweeten your baked goods, it also tenderizes them. If you use less granulated sugar than a recipe specifies, more than likely you will end up with a treat that isn’t as soft and, well, tender.

Sugar also helps baked goods get that nice golden bronze that I love (remember my George Hamilton scale of bronzing?) and if we were chatting about baking with yeast, sugar (not too much sugar) is great at feeding yeast in your breads and yeast-based pastries.

In The Best Pumpkin Streusel Muffins, the granulated sugar gives them that super soft, tender crumb and also lends a sweetness to the pumpkin flavor. 

Confectioners’ Sugar

Also called ‘powdered sugar’. ‘icing sugar’ and ’10x’.

Confectioners’ sugar is granulated sugar that has been pulverized and is then mixed with a small bit of cornstarch. These two qualities make it ideal for when you want a sugar that will melt into whatever you’re mixing it with (such as glazes, American buttercream, meringues).

Confectioners’ sugar is also great to dust over the top of your desserts as it can give something a polished, finished look (hellooooo holiday season!).

In this recipe, we make a thick glaze. The sifted confectioners’ sugar is mixed with just a touch of cream and bourbon to deliver a substantial glaze that will sit on top of the muffin and not just fall off the sides. We’re looking for drizzles and drips, and we got ’em.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffin Details

Some specifics for these pumpkin streusel muffins…

BOOZE-FREE

Want it booze free? No problem! Just replace the the bourbon 1:1 with more heavy whipping cream. I like heavy whipping cream in this glaze as it keeps the glaze bright and thick. In a pinch you could use milk, but it won’t have the same thickness.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

If you just want a simple pumpkin muffin and you want it fast, just omit the streusel and the glaze.

Additionally, if you’re not concerned with maximizing the crown on the muffin, there is no need to let the batter rest or add water to the empty muffin wells whilst baking.

Just omit these steps and your muffins will be ready in a flash.

BROWN SUGAR

As noted above, you may use light or dark brown sugar. 

MUFFIN RISE

With this recipe, we do a couple of extra muffin baking steps that you may not be used to. We do this extra fussing to get the most rise possible for this muffin batter.

If you can’t be bothered, don’t.

But let me outline what’s helping us get a good crown:

• Resting the batter for 30 minutes helps the flour absorb some moisture resulting in more puff. We do this with cookies all the time and I like to do it with cakes as well. You might worry that it will adversely affect your leavening (baking soda and baking powder), but fear not, it won’t.
• Only putting muffin batter in every other muffin well. This allows for good air flow around the muffins which will aid in rising. This also allows us to fill the empty muffin wells with water which will also help your batter rise.
• These steps are mostly aesthetics and if you’re in a rush, feeling no-nonsense (respect), simply omit them and you will still have a perfectly delicious muffin. Skipping these steps will not impact the taste of the muffin. 

The Baker’s Guide to Measuring Flour

One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes in baking is how we measure flour. If you find yourself without a scale, see my top tips on how to properly measure flour for the perfect amount every time!

Make Ahead + Freezing Options

MAKE AHEAD

You can make this muffin batter, stash it in the fridge overnight and bake off in the morning. I always call this a ‘living your best life’ moment.

The color of pumpkin will oxidize and dull a bit when exposed to air. So the color may not be as vibrant the next day.

FREEZE

Unbaked muffins freeze beautifully!

This is best done with silicon muffin liners (I think), but it can also be done with traditional paper liners. Fill them up with the muffin batter. Set your muffin tin, uncovered, in the freezer for several hours until frozen.

Place the frozen muffins in a air-tight container and place back in the freezer until ready to use. They can go freezer to oven, but you will need to tack on extra bake time so that they are thoroughly baked through.

I used to wrap them individually, and tightly, in plastic wrap to keep freezer burn at bay, but in a attempt to live a more plastic-free life, I hate to recommend and I don’t have another option at the moment.

If you do, please leave a note in the comments below!!

More C&H® Sugar x DisplacedHousewife Recipes!

I have been working with C&H® Sugar creating fun recipes with them. Here are some of the recipes you can find on their site: Brown Sugar Cupcakes With Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting, Dulce De Leche Brownies, No-Churn S’mores Ice Cream and this Olive Oil Berry Cake.

More Muffins!

Some of my favorites from the DisplacedHousewife archives! Also, check out the BRUNCH page for more breakfast inspiration. Check out my Favorite Blueberry Muffins, Cherry Streusel Jam Muffins, Raspberry Streusel Jam Muffins and Chocolate Espresso Muffins

Let’s bake The Best Pumpkin Streusel Muffins stat!

The Best Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

These pumpkin streusel muffins are the absolute best! This recipe is super simple to make and produces a moist, soft muffin with a crispy and flavorful streusel. Plus, they’re topped with a delicious boozy bourbon glaze (optional!).

5 from 6 reviews

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Muffins

Keyword: Pumpkin Muffins, Streusel, Breakfast, Brunch

Servings: 16 Muffins

Author: Rebecca Firth

Ingredients

For the Streusel

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (85 g) all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
• 1/3 cup (73 g) C&H® Golden Brown Sugar (packed)
• 1 teaspoon (2 g) cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) sea salt
• 4 tablespoons (57 g or 1/4 cup) unsalted butter (room temperature and cut into 4 pieces)

For the Muffins

• 12 tablespoons (170 g or 6 ounces or 3/4 cup) unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup (220 g) C&H® Golden Brown Sugar ( packed)
• ½ cup (100 g) C&H® Granulated Sugar (packed)
• 1 tablespoon (6 g) cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon (2 g) nutmeg
• 1  teaspoon (2 g) ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon (1 g) cloves
• 3 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup (244 g) pumpkin puree (not pie filling; 100% pumpkin)
• 1 tablespoon (13 g) real vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups (371) g all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
• 2 ½ teaspoons (13 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) sea salt
• 1/2 cup (120 g) milk (room temperature)

For the Bourbon Drizzle

• 1 cup (120 g) C&H® Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon (13 g) heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon (13 g) bourbon
• ½ teaspoon (2 g) real vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Streusel

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, C&H® Golden Brown Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the mixture until it resembles wet sand and when pinched together it holds into clumps. Place in the fridge to chill. If storing overnight, cover with plastic wrap; otherwise it’s fine for an hour-ish.

For the Muffins

• Place the 12 tablespoons butter, C&H® Golden Brown Sugar, C&H® Granulated Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves in an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium until creamy and well blended, about 4-5 minutes. With the mixer on low add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each completely before adding in the next. Add in the pumpkin and vanilla and mix for 1 minute more. Periodically scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well blended.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Add to the pumpkin mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk, mixing on low and stopping when just combined. Let the muffin batter sit for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) and line every other muffin well with a muffin liner. Fill each muffin liner almost to the top with muffin batter and cover the tops with streusel. Fill the empty muffin wells with hot water about ½ full. Be careful transferring the tray to the oven, you don’t want to splash water into the muffins.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the center of the oven or until a toothpick comes out clean and/or they bounce back when gently pressed in the center. For best results, bake one tin at a time. Let cool in the muffin tin for about 10ish minutes, then use a butter knife to help get them out to finish cooling on a rack.

For the Bourbon Drizzle

• While the muffins cool, in a small bowl whisk together the C&H® Confectioners’ Sugar, cream, bourbon and vanilla. The drizzle will be thick, add only enough cream so that it drizzles, but not so much that it’s thin and will run off the muffin. Once the muffins have cooled, drizzle over the tops and serve! Thank you for making The Best Pumpkin Streusel Muffins! Please tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so that I can see your beautiful pumpkin muffins!

Video

Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo

This post + The BEST Pumpkin Muffin recipe was created in collaboration with C&H® Sugar!! A big THANK YOU to them + you for supporting the brands I work with!