These muffins came about because I made Curried Pumpkin and Peanut Soup (recipe on this site) for dinner the other evening. What is the connection, you might wonder? Well, the only pumpkin I had in the pantry at the time was a large (29-oz.) can. And all I needed for the soup was two cups. That left me with a surplus of about a cup and quarter of pumpkin. And knowing myself as well as I do, unless I did something with that tiny bit of pumpkin right away, it would undoubtedly reside in a small container in our freezer until which time I decided the freezer needed cleaning out. Then I’m reasonably sure I would throw the pumpkin out just on general principle. So, I’m sure as you can clearly understand why I needed to do something with the extra pumpkin right away. And what better use of pumpkin than in a pie, or bread, or muffins.

So, never having worked up a pumpkin muffin recipe, I decided it was jolly well about time! And the recipe you find below is what I came up with.

And of course, because I have a propensity towards gilding a lily, I figured a crunchy crumble topped muffin would be preferable to just a regular, run of the mill unadorned muffin. And guess what? I was right! Because this recipe makes for a wonderful, tasty treat.

Now I am not going to fool you into thinking that this is a healthy treat. Because you can find hundreds of healthier ways to make a pumpkin muffin. But, if you are like us, we don’t eat muffins very often. So, when we do, we want to go first cabin. (So to speak.) And if this isn’t a “first cabin” muffin, then I never learned to drive when I was 12. And I did learn to drive when I was 12! On my uncle and aunt’s farm in Nebraska. On the narrow lanes that accessed various fields of corn in my parent’s brand new 1956 Ford station wagon. And because I couldn’t go very fast, I couldn’t have hurt myself or the car even if I had tried. The 8-foot stalks of corn were obviously at risk, however. But somehow, I managed to keep the car in the middle of the lanes. And boy oh boy was that fun. I still remember that exhilarating experience. And I still can’t begin to believe my parents actually let me drive the car all by myself. Now, would I have let my own children do anything like that at 12 years old? Heck no. But I’m still glad that my parents were crazy enough to put their trust in me.

So, if you too want to bake a muffin that is sure to please anyone who is lucky enough to sample your largesse, then may I suggest you give this recipe a try. And the crumble part, it would be perfect for just about any type of muffin. Sure, it adds unnecessary calories to any muffin. But hey, life’s short. We need to treat ourselves periodically. So, I say – go for it!

Peace and love to all.  

Crumble Topping recipe:

½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

pinch kosher salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, slightly melted

Combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle the butter into the bowl while stirring the mixture with a fork until crumbles form. Do not over-mix. (You want chunks of dough.)

Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. (It will harden.) Then, evenly drop bits of the mixture across muffins just before plopping the muffins into the oven.

Muffin Batter recipe:

1⅔ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. light brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

slightly rounded ½ tsp. ground ginger

slightly rounded ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp. kosher salt

¾ c. chopped walnuts

2 lg. eggs

½ c. vegetable or canola oil

1¼ c. canned pumpkin  

¼ c. whole milk

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.

In a large bowl mix the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt together. (I do this with my right hand making sure all the brown sugar lumps are broken down and evenly distributed.) Then stir in the chopped walnut pieces.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, pumpkin, and milk together until well blended.

Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and mix gently just until combined. Do not overmix. 

Using a #16 levered (scant ¼ cup) scoop, plop the pumpkin mixture into the paper liners filling them a little over ¾ full. Just before baking, sprinkle evenly with crumble mixture.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The muffins will stay moist for up to 5 days. Keep them in the fridge in an airtight container. Bring them to room temperature before serving. The muffins can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Makes 16 muffins.