These Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins are a delightful treat for the fall season. They are perfectly moist, sweet and pillowy-soft! There's nothing quite like the comforting aroma of pumpkin spice wafting through the kitchen once fall rolls around. Why not take your love for pumpkin to the next level with these delectable sourdough pumpkin muffins?
If you're looking for other delicious pumpkin recipes, you might enjoy these pumpkin Biscoff cookies, or if you're looking for other muffin recipes, give my cinnamon chip muffins a try!
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Why You'll Love These Muffins
These sourdough pumpkin muffins are absolutely incredible, and there are many reasons to love them but here are a few of the biggest reasons you'll be making these over and over again!
- These pumpkin muffins use sourdough discard so there's no need to plan ahead and feed your starter. Plus, if you're anything like me, you're always looking for things to do with your sourdough discard so you don't have to throw it away...it's a win-win situation!
- Pumpkin, cinnamon and maple go together perfectly! These muffins combine staple fall flavors that marry together very well!
- Perfect for any time of day! These muffins aren't too sweet that you can enjoy them for breakfast or a mid-day snack!
What is Sourdough Starter Discard?
To put it simply, sourdough starter discard is what is left-over when you feed your starter. When it comes time to feed my starter, I usually plan to make something with about half of the starter that I have in the refrigerator while I feed the rest.
There are many resources out there that deep dive into sourdough starter. Farmhouse on Boone has a great article on Maintaining and Feeding a Sourdough Starter which is pretty thorough and will give you just about all of the information you need on sourdough starter.
If you do not have a sourdough starter yet then you can make your own which is detailed in the article I linked above or you can purchase one. I actually got mine off of Facebook Marketplace for $5 and it was one of the best purchases I've ever made!
Ingredients
Let's start by looking at the ingredients that you'll need for these delicious sourdough pumpkin muffins!
Muffin Ingredients
- Vegetable Oil: I used vegetable oil for this recipe but you can use canola oil as well.
- Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar
- All-Purpose Flour: I used unbleached all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Pumpkin Puree: Ensure you use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling!
- Sourdough Discard: I used unfed sourdough discard that had been sitting in my refrigerator for about 1 week. If you want a less tangy taste, I recommend you feed your starter closer to the date that you plan to make the muffins to cut down the acidity.
- Eggs: I recommend letting this get to room temperature before using in the recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: You can substitute with vanilla bean paste if needed. I recommend using pure vanilla extract but imitation vanilla extract will work as well.
- Cinnamon: I recommend cinnamon but you can also just substitute for more pumpkin pie spice.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: If you do not have pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute for more cinnamon or make your own pumpkin pie spice!
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: All good muffins need leaveners!
- Salt
Cinnamon Streusel Ingredients
- Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar but dark brown sugar will work fine too!
- All-Purpose Flour: I used unbleached but bleached works great too!
- Unsalted Butter: To get the right texture for the streusel, you'll want to make sure that this is softened.
- Cinnamon: You can substitute more pumpkin pie spice if you prefer.
Maple Glaze Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar
- Maple Syrup: I recommend using pure maple syrup if possible! If you don't then you might need to add some milk to thin out the glaze since fake maple syrup tends to be thicker.
- Maple Extract: I buy mine at the grocery store but you can sub vanilla extract if needed. It won't be as strong of a maple flavor but it will still be delicious!
- Unsalted Butter: The butter will be melted to make the glaze.
How to Make These Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins
For the Muffins
Time needed: 40 minutes
These sourdough muffins are delicious and fairly quick to make. Here's how!
- Preheat Oven
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray with non-stick spray.
- Combine Wet Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and sugars. Add the egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough starter discard. Continue mixing until smooth.
- Combine Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine Everything
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue to whisk until smooth and free of lumps.
- Fill the Muffin Tin
Fill the muffin tins about ¾ full then top with the cinnamon streusel mixture.
- Bake
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Drizzle with Maple Glaze
Allow the muffins to cool slightly before topping them with the maple glaze.
For the Cinnamon Streusel
Using the back of a fork, combine the brown sugar, flour, softened butter and cinnamon in a bowl until it starts to form into small crumbles. Top muffins before baking.
For the Maple Glaze
Combine the powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, and melted butter in a small bowl and mix until smooth and no lumps remain. Drizzle over freshly baked muffins.
Tips for the Perfect Muffins
This recipe is fairly straight forward but here are a few pro-tips to ensure you get the best muffins possible!
- Don't overmix the batter to keep the muffins tender.
- Measure your flour correctly! Flour should always be spooned and leveled so you don't end up with too much flour and a dense, dry muffin. Start by fluffing up your flour and then spooning it into your measuring cup. Level it off and you're good to go!
- Use room temperature ingredients to ensure that everything mixes together well. Room temperature ingredients will help you achieve the best texture possible.
- Use an ice cream scoop to ensure uniform muffin sizes.
- Experiment with spices and add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or coconut to personalize your muffins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Muffins can become dense if they are overmixed. Make sure that you mix the batter until just combined.
No. Pumpkin puree is just cooked pumpkin while pumpkin pie filling includes other ingredients that you don't need such as spices and sugars.
Store the muffins in an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days, in the refrigerator for about 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
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📖 Recipe
Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins:
- ½ c vegetable oil
- ½ c brown sugar
- ½ c granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- ¾ c sourdough discard
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Cinnamon Streusel (optional):
- ¼ c brown sugar
- ½ c all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Maple Glaze (optional):
- ½ c powdered sugar
- ¼ c maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Instructions
For the Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and sugars. Add the egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sourdough starter discard. Continue mixing until smooth.½ c vegetable oil, ½ c brown sugar, ½ c granulated sugar, 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree, ¾ c sourdough discard
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.2 c all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue to whisk until smooth and free of lumps.
- Fill the muffin tins about ¾ full then top with the cinnamon streusel mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool slightly before topping them with the maple glaze.
For the Cinnamon Streusel (optional):
- Using the back of a fork, combine the brown sugar, flour, softened butter and cinnamon in a bowl until it starts to form into small crumbles. Top muffins before baking.¼ c brown sugar, ½ c all-purpose flour, 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Maple Glaze (optional):
- Combine the powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, and melted butter in a small bowl and mix until smooth and no lumps remain. Drizzle over freshly baked muffins½ c powdered sugar, ¼ c maple syrup, ½ teaspoon maple extract, 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Dr. Shauen says
Very moist, great recipe!