They taste like a cinnamon-sugar-coated pumpkin donut hole, but you’ll bake these mini cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins in a mini muffin pan. Made with pumpkin and whole-wheat flour, then dunked in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon-sugar… these treats are satisfying and nice, with a big dose of pumpkin spice! 😉
. A timeless favorite!
Today’s mini pumpkin muffins are totally pop-able—one-bite wonders, if you will. They’re a fun favorite and I haven’t changed the recipe at all in the past 12 years.
Consider them the mini pumpkin version of these baked apple cider donuts.
Here are all of the ingredients you need. A couple of these ingredients are repeated in the topping, plus some granulated sugar.
Expect a very thick batter:
Instead of mini muffins, you can bake regular-size cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins using this muffin batter. I will say that today’s version isn’t quite as soft and pumpkin-forward as my regular pumpkin muffins, though. Still, you’re going to get some excellent pumpkin spice flavor and a nice hearty texture.
For 12 regular-size muffins, prepare batter as instructed below and fill a 12-count muffin pan. For tall muffin tops, try my favorite trick: Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C); then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and bake for an additional 16 minutes, or until the surface bounces back when lightly pressed and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these regular-size muffins take in the oven is about 20–21 minutes.
The initial high temperature helps create tall, beautiful bakery-style muffin tops. I use this trick in just about all of my regular-size muffin recipes!
Because of the (delicious!) dunk in melted butter, these mini cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins taste best on day 1. To keep that tasty coating from turning mushy, don’t store them in an airtight container. Instead, loosely cover them, which will allow a little airflow.
Made with pure pumpkin, whole wheat flour, and extra cinnamon spice, these mini cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins are a cross between a muffin and a dense cake-style donut. No need for an electric mixer or muffin liners, and no messy frying in oil.