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Home › Recipes › Pumpkin Muffins with My Secret Crumb Topping

Pumpkin Muffins with My Secret Crumb Topping

Cakes & Cupcakes Desserts Recipes
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By Janine Waite · Published on Oct 1, 2020
Affiliate Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links.

These Pumpkin Muffins with My Secret Crumb Topping are like the desserts you’d find in a fancy pastry shop. The crumb topping is something that I have always wanted to recreate.

best pumpkin muffins

 

Recently my husband and I had a baking day over the weekend. He helped me with the crumb topping, and I noticed that he evenly spread the small crumbs.

I may have overreacted a bit by my panicked tone when I told him that I didn’t want the small crumbles but rather the big chunky yummy topping. You know the kind that tempts you to pick off the top of the muffin when no one is looking. 

Yes, I’m sure you are guilty of sneaking a yummy spice-laden crumb off a muffin! Yes, just the other day, I noticed that someone had taken most of the topping off one of the muffins. We never found out who the guilty party was and who ate the top of the muffin.

Oh well, some things will remain a mystery around here at the Waite pad. 

This post is a part of a pumpkin recipe blog hop. Here are my friends who are joining me!

 

17 Sweet Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Banana Bread or Pumpkin Apple Bread? – My 100 Year Old Home

Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Espresso Frosting – Finding Lovely

Creamy Pumpkin Spice Latte – Satori Design For Living

Pumpkin Pie Muffins – Lemon Grove Lane

Pumpkin Muffins with My Secret Crumb Topping– Happy Happy Nester

Easy Pumpkin Roll Recipe – Jennifer Maune

Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler – Sincerely, Marie Designs

Pumpkin Pie Bars – My Sweet Savannah

One Bowl Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake – Modern Glam

Copycat Starbucks Keto Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins – The Happy Housie

Dairy Free Pumpkin Ice-Cream – Zevy Joy

Pumpkin Pastry Twists – Paint Me Pink

Low Carb Keto Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecakes – Tatertots & Jello

Pumpkin Madeleines – Most Lovely Things

Baked Pumpkin Cake Donuts – Inspiration For Moms

Easy Mini Pumpkin Pie – Dreaming of Homemaking

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls – Twelve on Main

 

pumpkin muffin

Important Notes About Baking These Pumpkin Muffins

 

I love to bake, and I also love a challenge. And like I said, I’ve always wanted to create a muffin with a mile high crumble. Well, I’m exaggerating a little bit about the height of the topping, but you get the idea.

So, finally, I have the best crumble. But, here are a few things that I discovered to get the best muffin top. And I’m not talking about my waistline. 

 
the best crumble muffin topping

1. My Secret to a Thick Crumb Topping

The surprising thing about baking muffins is that when the dough rises, the crumble spreads. So, take a look at the above photo. The muffin on the top was baked just as is and the muffin on the bottom is the one that I fixed mid baking. Here is my secret to creating the perfect muffin crumble. Mid baking, place more topping on the muffins. This means that you need to fill all the areas that don’t have crumbs.

An important note, when you initially cover the muffins, you will have a lot of crumble leftovers. Well, once you top off the muffins mid-bake, you will use all the crumble. 

This has to be what pastry chefs do to guarantee that the muffin’s top comes out packed with the delicious crumble. Or maybe they start with like an inch deep of crumble? I’ll have to try that next. 

 

2. Do These Need Tulip Paper Liners

If you want a dense topping, I would highly recommend baking your muffins in these liners. So, I figured out that the tulip liners are so high that even if your muffin rises, the muffin or the crumble will overflow. Plus, not only do they hold in the muffin, but they are also so pretty and have such a great presentation. Here is a video tutorial on how to make the tulip liners.

 

tulip muffin liners

 

How to Make Pumpkin Crumb Topping

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

2. Combine sugars, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. 

3. Mix in melted butter.

4. Fold in and stir flour to the sugar and butter mixture.

5. Spread on parchment paper and set aside until later. There should be a good amount of big chunk of crumbs.

pumpkin bread recipe

Can I Frost Them?

I did place a lovely icing over my pumpkin bread. Here is the link to the Pumpkin Bread and Icing recipe. It just adds a nice sweetness, so try adding it. Since I haven’t tried it on this recipe, I’m not sure if it will create a soggy muffin top. I assume the icing will harden and so the crumble will stay crunchy. 

Can I Freeze Them?

Give muffins time to cool and then wrap in plastic wrap or tin foil. The muffins will stay fresh up to three months in the freezer. 

 

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5 from 3 votes

Pumpkin Muffins with Crumble Topping

These Pumpkin Muffins with Crumble Topping is the best pumpkin dessert recipe. The crumb is like those found in a fancy pastry shop. Impress your family and friends with this moist pumpkin delight.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time50 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Apple Dessert, Apple Recipe, Baking, Muffins, pumpkin, Pumpkin Dessert
Servings: 26 muffins
Calories: 396kcal
Author: Janine Waite

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bread

  • 15 ounces Can Pumpkin Puree 1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin puree
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • ⅔ cup water
  • 3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3½ cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¾ tsp ground cloves
  • ¾ tsp ground ginger

Crumb Topping

  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup butter melted
  • 3 cup flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°

    Crumble Topping

    • Melt butter over stovetop or microwave.
    • Combine sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in melted butter then add flour. Stir until moist.
    • Pour crumbs onto parchment paper.

    Muffins

    • Make tulip parchment paper liners. Please watch the video on how to make the liners.
    • In a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.
    • Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
    • Pour equal amounts of the dough in each muffin liner. I filled the liners to ¾ full and the batter almost reached the top of the tin.
    • Top each muffin with crumble. Note that you will have lots of crumble left. Don't panic since you will use this for a second topping while the muffins are baking.
    • Bake muffins for 25 minutes. Check muffins at this point. You'll notice that the dough has spread and there are bare spots. Place more crumble on each muffin so that each muffin is full of the topping.
    • Bake muffins another 25 minutes.
    • Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool on a baking rack. After 5 minutes remove the muffins with liners onto the rack.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 26servings | Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 351mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 2800IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @happyhappynester or tag #happyhappynester!

    pumpkin bread recipe

    Recipe Options: Make a Loaf and 12 Muffins

    We will make this recipe and halve it and bake a pumpkin loaf and some muffins. It is so nice to have a little variety. There is enough crumble for both desserts. 

    pumpkin muffin with the best crumb topping
    Photo: Mark Yamamoto

    As you can see, I love everything pumpkin. And after many years, I have accumulated quite a few recipes:

    • Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe (with icing)
    • Starbucks Copycat Bread Recipe
    • Italian Cream Cake with a Twist of Pumpkin

    And oh yeah, make sure to visit my friend’s amazing pumpkin recipes!

    Cheers,

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    Comments

    1. leslie @lemongrovelane

      October 01, 2020 at 10:17 am

      5 stars
      Yummy! The crumb topping sounds so good. Happy Oct. 1!

      Reply
    2. Shauna

      October 01, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      5 stars
      That crumble topping is everything! And, I love that it can be made into loaves too. Delicious!

      Reply
    3. Jackie

      October 01, 2020 at 2:21 pm

      These look so good Janine! I love crumb topping on muffins.

      Reply
    4. jennifer hadfield

      October 01, 2020 at 9:10 pm

      5 stars
      Oh wow! This recipe looks completely incredible, Janine! The topping looks so good! Pinned 🙂

      xoxo

      Reply
    5. Norma

      October 04, 2020 at 3:44 pm

      This sounds sooo delicious Janine! Muffins are one of my favorite things to bake and I can’t wait to try this recipe!! Thank you for sharing your secret crum topping with us!! Yum!!

      Reply
    6. Krista

      October 09, 2020 at 7:15 pm

      Wow, these look amazing, Janine! The crumb topping sounds incredible!

      Reply
    7. Renae Frey

      October 28, 2023 at 5:42 am

      Oh, Yum! These sound delicious. I love pumpkin anything. Happy Fall!

      Reply

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