Small Batch Pumpkin Muffins

About This Small Batch Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

These small batch pumpkin muffins are super light and fluffy, with tall domed muffin tops with signature sugar crackled tops! Each muffin tastes like pumpkin spice with crunchy sugar. The recipe comes together quickly and easily with just two bowls—no stand mixer required. The best part? This pumpkin muffin recipe is small batch and makes only 4 muffins!

Why You Should Make The Recipe

Here are all the reasons to make this small batch pumpkin muffin recipe:

The muffins are adapted from the popular pumpkin loaf cake recipe in my cookbook, Weeknight Baking.

This recipe is based on the “Choose-Your-Own Pumpkin Spice Bread” recipe in my cookbook! The recipe is one of the most popular recipes in the book, with many readers sharing their take on the recipe on Instagram. I suspect that people love the recipe because it allows bakers to customize their pumpkin bread with different pumpkin spice mixes. You can choose to flavor your loaf with “Classic Pumpkin Spice”, “Vanilla Pumpkin Spice”, “Chai Pumpkin Spice”, and more. You can also see a variation of it on this blog with this pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

I suspect the recipe is so popular because it’s easy to make, and makes an incredibly light, moist, and fluffy bread with a sugary top. It also tastes like pumpkin pie, but in loaf cake form! And luckily, I was able to translate those beloved textures and flavors into muffins!

The recipe only makes 4 muffins!

Most muffin recipes typically yield at least a dozen muffins; or, often times, more! However, this pumpkin muffin recipe only makes a grand total of 4 muffins. Pretty cool, right? It’s the perfect amount for a small family of 2 to 4 people.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make this small batch pumpkin muffin recipe, here’s everything you need for it:

Shopping List For Small Batch Pumpkin Muffins

Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the exact ingredient quantities:

• all-purpose flour
• cinnamon (preferably ground)
• nutmeg (preferably ground)
• cloves (preferably ground)
• baking powder
• baking soda
• kosher salt
• canned pumpkin puree
• canola oil
• pure vanilla extract
• granulated sugar
• large eggs

And let’s talk about some key ingredients and potential substitutions:

Canned Pumpkin Puree

You need ⅓ cup pumpkin puree to make small batch pumpkin muffins.

What is canned pumpkin puree?

In the United States, most grocery stores sell canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin consists of pumpkin (or sometimes, according to this Kitchn article about pumpkin puree, squash!) that is de-seeded, peeled, roasted, and pureed. Many American recipes instruct you to use this pumpkin puree in both sweet and savory recipes. My favorite brand of canned pumpkin puree is Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin.

How To Make Small Batch Pumpkin Muffins

Here are the basic steps to make small batch pumpkin muffins from scratch:

First, prep everything for baking and make the pumpkin muffin batter.

1. Prep the oven, pan, and pumpkin muffin batter ingredients. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)
   While the oven is preheating, prep your muffin pan by lining the cavities with paper liners, and measure out the ingredients for the muffins.
   
   To save myself some dishes, I like to use a digital scale to weigh out all the dry ingredients in one bowl, tare-ing the scale back down to “0” every time I add a new ingredient. This keeps me from using too many measuring cups. I do the same with the wet ingredients. The recipe will instruct you to mix all those ingredients together, anyway!
   
   
2. Make the pumpkin muffin batter. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   It is so incredibly easy to make the pumpkin muffin batter. All you need to do is whisk together the dry ingredients in their bowl, then the wet ones in another bowl. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ones until just combined. Boom! You just made the muffin batter.

Then, assemble and bake the pumpkin muffins.

1. Assemble the pumpkin muffins. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   Once you’ve made the batter, it’s time to assemble the muffins. I like to use a 1-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to portion out the batter quickly and evenly between the different cavities. But because the recipe instructs you to scoop 6 Tablespoons of batter into each cavity, you can also use a 2-Tablespoon or a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop, too.
   
   As you fill the muffin pan with batter, you might be skeptical. 6 Tablespoons of batter will seem like a lot of batter. Let me warn you now: that much batter will go all the way up the sides of the cavities, filling each cavity completely. But trust me! This is the secret to tall and domed muffin tops.
   
   Once you fill the muffin pan, sprinkle the top of each muffin with 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Doing so gives the muffins their signature sugar crackle top. Fill the empty cavities of the muffin pan with water to ensure that all muffins will bake evenly.
   
   
2. Bake the pumpkin muffins. (Bake Time: 22 minutes)
   The small batch pumpkin muffins need 22 to 24 minutes in the oven. After that, cool the muffins in their pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then, turn them out to prevent them from cooking further. That’s it!

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

FAQ: Questions About Baking Equipment

The Best Baking Equipment To Make Small Batch Pumpkin Muffins

Here are my favorite tools to use when making this pumpkin muffin recipe:

• A 6-cavity muffin pan. Most muffin pans have 12 cavities to make a dozen muffins. However, because this is a small batch recipe, we don’t need that many cavities! I love using this small batch 6-cavity muffin pan from Williams-Sonoma.
  
  Why? The recipe instructs you to fill any empty cavities of the muffin pan with water. And with this pan, I only need to fill 2 cavities with water as opposed to 8! Extra credit to you if you want to shell out for a 4-cavity muffin pan.
  
  
• A 1-, 2-, or 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop. I mentioned earlier that I like to use cookie dough scoops to fill the muffin pan quickly and efficiently with batter. But using cookie scoops has other added benefits, too. You know exactly how much batter goes into each muffin, ensuring that your muffins all come out the same size.
  
  Furthermore, I get super specific in the recipe and tell you that you need to use 6 Tablespoons of batter to make each muffin. Trust me—using that much batter is the secret to bakery style muffins! You can use a 1-Tablespoon, 2-Tablespoon, or 3-Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure it out perfectly.

FAQ: Questions About Make Ahead Techniques

Can I refrigerate the pumpkin muffin batter to save it for baking later?

Yes! You can refrigerate the muffin batter for up to 3 days before baking. Their muffin tops will actually come out taller and more domed when you do! There’s also no need to bring the muffin batter to room temperature or adjust Bake Time dramatically.

FAQ: Questions About Ingredients

Do I have to use pre-ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves? Can I grind my own spices instead?

Absolutely! If you want to score the extra credit points and end up with even tastier muffins, grind whole cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to use in this recipe. Grind them right before making the batter, too. Doing so will ensure that the spices are at their strongest and most aromatic, infusing the bread with lots of flavor.

If you want to learn more about grinding spices, be sure to check out this recipe for Lavender Earl Grey Cookies. In the recipe FAQ, I talk about the different tools you can use to grind spices.

FAQ: Recipe Troubleshooting

Help! My pumpkin muffins don’t look as tall and domed as yours. What did I do wrong?

In the recipe, I instruct you to fill each muffin pan cavity with 6 generous Tablespoons of muffin batter. That amount goes beyond the conventional wisdom that states that you should only fill muffin pans up to ⅔- or ¾- full of batter! So, a lot of people tend to panic and stop at around that capacity. Many think that, if they follow my instructions, the muffin batter will overflow the pan and onto the oven floor when baked.

And I get that, I really do. But it’s also likely why your muffins aren’t as tall and domed as mine. It turns out one of the secrets to super tall and domed muffin tops is filling the muffin cavities with a generous amount of batter. Don’t worry about the muffin batter overflowing the pan!

FAQ: How To Store Small Batch Pumpkin Muffins

How To Store Small Batch Pumpkin Muffins

These pumpkin muffins are best the day they are made. However, the muffins can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, or stored in an airtight container or under a cake dome, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Can I freeze small batch pumpkin muffins?

Technically yes, but I don’t recommend it. If you do, the tops will lose their crispiness—the muffin will still be tasty and soft, with no crunch or crisp from the sugared muffin tops.

But if you insist, you can indeed freeze the pumpkin muffins.To do so, follow the recipe instructions to bake the muffins. Once you’ve turned them out of the muffin pan, cool them completely to room temperature. Once cool, individually wrap each muffin in two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.

When ready to serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Rewarm by placing the muffins on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Other Pumpkin Recipes on Hummingbird High

• Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe, Elevated
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
• NOT Cakey Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

More Muffin Recipes

• Banana Cinnamon Muffins
• Blueberry Cornflake Muffins
• Copycat Levain Bakery Blueberry Muffins
• Maple Brown Sugar Donut Muffins
• Maple Pecan Muffins
• Mini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

More Small Batch Muffin Recipes

• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Banana Nut Muffins
• Blueberry Muffins
• Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins