High Altitude Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins

It simply wouldn’t be fall without all the delicious pumpkin things to eat, with plenty of cozy spices and streusel crumbs. These high altitude pumpkin crumb cake muffins are soft, moist and cakey, topped with buttery brown sugar streusel. They’re the perfect breakfast treat that stays fresh-tasting for days, so you can enjoy muffins all weekend when you make a batch of these. The muffins rise beautifully with golden brown crumbly tops, and they are simply irresistible for a weekend breakfast in the fall. If you’re looking for the best high altitude pumpkin streusel muffins, you’ll love this recipe!

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? You’ll love this pumpkin crumb coffee cake, pumpkin pie spice shortbread cookies, and pumpkin pecan waffles.

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Why You’ll Love These Muffins

Pumpkin Everything. Pumpkin everything season simply has to have some pumpkin crumb muffins! I never get tired of pumpkin baked goods in the fall.

Crumb Topping. Is a muffin even a muffin without crumb topping? It’s the best topping for these muffins, and loads of crumbly streusel add a sweet buttery crunch with every bite.

Big Fluffy Muffin Tops. These pumpkin crumb muffins nearly double their height in the oven, for a big, tempting muffin top that’s so fluffy and covered in all that glorious streusel.

Quick and Easy. This is an easy, uncomplicated recipe to make, and you’ll have hot muffins ready in under an hour.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

• Unsalted Butter. Adds moisture to the topping and a rich, buttery flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour. Thickens the crumb topping and gives it structure.
• Sugar. A combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar adds sweetness and a hint of molasses in the topping.
• Nutmeg. A little freshly grated nutmeg adds the best flavor to the topping.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.

Muffins

• Pumpkin. Adds pumpkin flavor, of course, but also moisture. Be sure to use canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Sugar. A combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar adds sweetness, moisture and a hint of molasses in the topping.
• Oil or Butter. Adds fat, flavor and moisture.
• Whole Milk. Moisture.
• Eggs. Add structure and strength to the muffin batter.
• Vanilla. Flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure to the muffin batter.
• Corn Starch. Tenderizes the muffins for a soft, fluffy texture.
• Baking Soda. Leavens the muffins so they rise.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Spices. A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves are perfectly complementary to the pumpkin.

Instructions

Make the streusel crumb topping.

• Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line a standard-sized muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Lightly spray the liners with non-stick baking spray, to easily release the muffins, and spray the top of the muffin pan, too.
• In a bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients with a fork until moistened and crumbly.

Make the muffins.

• In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugars, oil or melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla.
• Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt and spices.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together with a spoon, just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
• Divide the batter between the muffin cups; they will be fairly full.
• Generously sprinkle the streusel crumbs over the batter and lightly press the crumbs into the batter. It might seem like too much crumb topping, but after the batter puffs up, crumb topping will be perfectly distributed over the top of each muffin.

• Put the muffins in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 F. Bake the muffins on the center oven rack for about 22 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, or with moist crumbs.
• Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully remove and set on a wire cooling rack. Cool for 10-15 minutes, and serve warm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of pumpkin should I use?

Use canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.

Can I use homemade pumpkin puree?

You sure can. If roasting and pureeing your own pumpkins for baking, be sure to use pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins, which have a sweeter flavor than field pumpkins intended just for carving.

How long do these muffins stay fresh?

These pumpkin crumb muffins are fantastic leftover, and stay moist, soft and fresh tasting for days.  Because they are so good leftover, I often bake them the night before, let them cool completely, and then store them in an airtight container for breakfast the next morning.

Will this recipe work for jumbo sized muffins?

Yes, you can make 12 standard-sized muffins or 6 jumbo muffins. The larger muffins take longer to bake, usually at least 30-35 minutes.

Can I make these with non-dairy substitutes for the milk and eggs?

You should be able to use any non-dairy milk instead of the whole milk. While I haven’t personally tried substitutions for the eggs, you might be able to substitute 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce for each egg, although the muffins may not rise as well.

Is a muffin pan the same thing as a cupcake pan?

Yes.

How can I use up the leftover pumpkin puree?

So many ways! Try adding it to a frozen banana smoothie with a little maple syrup for sweetener. Add it to chili or soup. Or freeze it and save it for pumpkin bread or pumpkin cake.

Will this recipe work with whole wheat flour?

I don’t recommend using 100% whole wheat flour, as the muffins will be more dense, dry and crumbly. Try substituting 25-50% of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to add a hearty, wholesome texture, while still preserving the soft crumb.

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