Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
This easy recipe for pumpkin doughnut muffins wraps soft, warmly spiced pumpkin muffins in a buttery cinnamon-sugar coating for an irresistible fall treat! 🎃
I love a classic pumpkin pie as much as the next girl, but every fall those tempting cans of pumpkin puree start whispering that there must be even more delicious things we can do with them.
The idea for these muffins arrived while I was making cinnamon butter muffins: what if I stirred in pumpkin and warm spices, then brushed the baked muffins with butter and rolled them in cinnamon sugar? The answer, according to my delighted taste testers, was pumpkin pie in muffin form. In other words…PUMPKIN HEAVEN. 🎃
Jump to:
- 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- ⭐️ Why this recipe works
- 🎃 Ingredients you need
- 📝 Ingredient notes
- 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
- 🤔 Recipe FAQs
- 🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
- 🍽️ What should I serve with this recipe?
- Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
- 💫 Variations on this recipe
- ❤️ Other muffin recipes we love
- ⭐️ We want to know what you think!
🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- What It Is: Soft pumpkin muffins flavored with warm spices, brushed with melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Cooling Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Servings: 12 muffins
- Calories: Approximately 360 per muffin
- Cooking Method: Oven
- Good For: Fall breakfasts, brunches, afternoon treats, Halloween gatherings and celebrating National Pumpkin Day. 🎃
⭐️ Why this recipe works
- 🎃 Pumpkin keeps the muffins soft and moist: Canned pumpkin gives every bite a tender texture along with plenty of cozy fall flavor.
- 🍂 Warm spices make them taste like autumn: Nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon turn these muffins into a delightfully fragrant seasonal treat.
- 🍩 You get doughnut flavor without frying: The buttery cinnamon-sugar coating gives them that classic doughnut-shop finish with no hot oil required.
- 🧈 The coating makes them extra special: Brushing the warm muffins with melted butter helps every glorious bit of cinnamon sugar stick.
- 🥣 The ingredients are simple and familiar: Everything comes together with basic baking staples and one handy can of pumpkin puree.
- 🎉 One batch makes plenty to share: The recipe makes 12 generously sized muffins—although keeping a few for yourself is highly recommended!
🎃 Ingredients you need
📝 Ingredient notes
- Pumpkin puree: Use plain canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling—the cans look remarkably similar! Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices and will change the recipe.
- Butter: You will need softened butter for the muffin batter and melted butter for the cinnamon-sugar coating. Take the wrapper off before softening it so the butter doesn’t stick.
- Buttermilk: This adds flavor and helps make the muffins tender. If you don’t have any, stir one teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into ⅓ cup milk and let it sit for five minutes.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is perfect. Spoon it lightly into your measuring cup and level it off so you don’t accidentally add too much and end up with heavy muffins.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will both work. Dark brown sugar will give the muffins a slightly deeper molasses flavor.
- Spices: Nutmeg and allspice flavor the muffin batter, while cinnamon goes into the sugary coating. You can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the nutmeg and allspice if that’s what you have on hand.
💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
STEP 2: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and allspice together in a medium bowl.
STEP 3: Stir the pumpkin puree and buttermilk together in a separate bowl until smooth.
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STEP 4: Put the softened butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
STEP 5: Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg is fully mixed in before adding the second.
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STEP 6: Add the flour mixture in three portions, alternating with two portions of the pumpkin mixture. Begin and end with the flour and mix just until everything is combined.
STEP 7: Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
PRO TIP: The muffin cups will be filled almost to the top, but don’t worry—they will bake up beautifully!
STEP 8: While the muffins are baking, stir the white sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl and melt the remaining butter.
STEP 9: Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully pop them out. Brush each muffin with melted butter and roll it in the cinnamon sugar until gloriously coated.
PRO TIP: For a slightly less messy muffin, brush and coat just the tops. I have never heard anyone complain about the all-over version, though!
STEP 10: Set the muffins on a wire rack to cool, guarding them carefully from any muffin pilferers who may have followed that cinnamon-pumpkin aroma into the kitchen. 🎃
🤔 Recipe FAQs
Look for it in the baking aisle, especially during the fall. Make sure you buy plain pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling—the cans look very similar, but pie filling already contains sugar and spices.
A large cookie or muffin scoop works beautifully. You can also use two spoons—one to scoop up the batter and the other to scrape it into the muffin cup.
They are at their soft and cinnamon-sugary best on the day they are made, but you can keep them in a covered container at room temperature for up to three days.
You can! Drain off any excess liquid so it has a thick consistency similar to canned pumpkin. You will need about 1¾ cups.
Absolutely. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes, remove the liners and then brush and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. You can also leave the liners on and coat only the muffin tops.
Dense muffins usually happen when the batter is overmixed or too much flour is added. Spoon the flour lightly into your measuring cup, level it off and mix the batter just until the ingredients are combined.
Yes! For the best results, freeze the baked muffins before adding the butter and cinnamon-sugar coating. Store them in a freezer-safe container for up to two months, thaw at room temperature and coat them before serving.
Pop your question (or comment, or suggestion) in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto!
🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Muffin Tin: A standard 12 cup muffin pan gives these generously sized muffins plenty of room to bake up tall and golden.
- Hand Mixer: This makes quick work of beating the butter and brown sugar until they are light and fluffy.
- Cupcake Batter Scoop: My favorite way to divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups with minimal drips and plops.
- Basting Brush: Perfect for brushing every warm muffin with melted butter before its cinnamon-sugar bath.
- Cooling Rack: This lets air circulate around the muffins so they cool without getting soggy on the bottom.
🍽️ What should I serve with this recipe?
Turn these cinnamon-sugary pumpkin muffins into a cozy fall brunch with some creamy ricotta scrambled eggs and a colorful mimosa fruit salad. Add a warm cup of fresh mint tea when you are feeling angelic—or some red wine hot chocolate when you are feeling extra sassy! 🎃😇😈
Let’s grab the pumpkin, bring on the cinnamon sugar and make ourselves some muffin-shaped doughnut happiness! 🎃🍩
Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
This easy recipe for pumpkin doughnut muffins wraps soft, warmly spiced pumpkin muffins in a buttery cinnamon-sugar coating for an irresistible fall treat!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the pumpkin muffins
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
For the cinnamon-sugar coating
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and allspice together in a medium bowl.
- Stir the pumpkin puree and buttermilk together in a separate bowl until smooth.
- Beat the softened butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Add the flour mixture in three portions, alternating with two portions of the pumpkin mixture. Begin and end with the flour and mix just until combined.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- While the muffins are baking, stir the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl and melt the remaining butter.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove them. Brush each muffin with melted butter, roll it in the cinnamon sugar and transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Make sure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix – the cans look super similar! Look for it in the baking aisle.
- Take the wrapper off the butter before you bring it to room temperature so the soft butter doesn’t stick to that wrapper.
- If you want, you can just coat the top of the muffins with the butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. They are a little neater to eat that way (although I’ve never heard a complaint about a messy muffin!)
- These are best the day you make them, but they will keep for a few days in a covered container. If they last that long!
💫 Variations on this recipe
- 🍂 Use pumpkin pie spice: Replace the nutmeg and allspice with one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for an easy all-in-one flavor swap.
- 🍫 Add chocolate chips: Fold one cup of mini chocolate chips into the finished batter before filling the muffin pan.
- 🌰 Bring on the crunch: Stir ¾ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter.
- 🍁 Add a maple glaze: Skip the cinnamon-sugar coating and drizzle the cooled muffins with a glaze made from powdered sugar and maple syrup.
- ✨ Make streusel-topped muffins: Sprinkle your favorite brown sugar streusel over the batter before baking and skip the buttery coating.
- 🍊 Brighten them up: Add a teaspoon of finely grated orange zest to the batter for a little citrusy sparkle.
- 🤏 Make mini muffins: Divide the batter among greased mini muffin cups and begin checking them after 12 minutes. Brush and roll those adorable little muffins in cinnamon sugar just like the full-size version.
- 🌾 Make them gluten-free: Substitute a cup-for-cup gluten-free baking flour for the all-purpose flour.
❤️ Other muffin recipes we love
Looking for more muffin inspiration? Here is our complete collection of muffin recipes!
⭐️ We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
These muffins are ?????? I put extra cinnamon sugar on mine and it was such a great fall treat!
Extra cinnamon sugar is always the way to go! :)