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! 😉
I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips. 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.
One reader, Loraine, commented: “So delicious! I was surprised with the whole wheat flour (which I never use) that these were so good. And yes, donut-like! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Denise, commented: “I took these for a gathering with friends and they were quite a hit! Easy to make and delicious. A cross between a muffin and a donut hole. ★★★★★”
Why You’ll Love These Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- They’re moist, soft, and dense but not heavy—like the texture of a cake donut.
- The recipe is based off of my Nutella-stuffed cinnamon sugar muffins, and if you’ve made those before, you know they’re good!
- Bite-sized like my whole wheat mini pumpkin muffins. And definitely acceptable as a snack, breakfast, or dessert.
- A dunk in melted butter and a generous roll in cinnamon-sugar gives these pumpkin muffins a scrumptiously sweet coating that will make you think they came from the donut shop.
- And they’re easy to make! A fun recipe for beginner bakers to try, or to make with young helpers.
- A great place to use homemade pumpkin pie spice if you have some.
Overview: How to Make Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
They’re quick and easy. You don’t even need to break out your electric mixer.
- Mix the dry ingredients together. Whole wheat flour gives these a slightly denser texture, but you can use all-purpose flour if you prefer, or a mix of both.
- Mix the wet ingredients together, which includes the pumpkin puree. If you have some leftover, here are some recipes to make with leftover pumpkin puree.
- Combine wet & dry ingredients. And don’t be alarmed at how thick the batter is. You want a cake-like dense muffin.
- Fill mini muffin pans and bake. No need for muffin liners, and no frying in oil.
- Melt butter and make cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Dunk, roll, and enjoy.
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:
Try Them Regular Size
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!
Storage Tip:
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.
More Fall Breakfast Recipes
- Apple Cider Donuts (baked not fried)
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Pumpkin Scones
And homemade pumpkin coffee creamer for your fall cup of joe!
Print
Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour, or mix of both*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (170g) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk (any kind)
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 24-count mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt together. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together. Add the egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and milk and whisk to combine. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk until just combined. Avoid over-mixing. Batter is thick.
- Using a small spoon, spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 12-14 or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or when lightly poked, the muffin bounces back. Remove from the oven and cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes.
- For the coating: In a small bowl, mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together. Use a spoon to help remove the warm muffins from the pan. Lightly dunk a muffin (they can still be a bit warm) in the melted butter. Submerge in the cinnamon-sugar to coat the surface generously. Set upright on cooling rack and repeat with remaining mini muffins.
- Muffins taste best eaten on the same day. Cover and store leftover muffins at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To help prevent the coating from turning mushy and wet, only loosely cover them, which will allow a little airflow.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: It’s best to freeze the mini muffins before coating in butter and cinnamon-sugar. After cooling completely, place muffins in a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before coating. If needed, you can freeze after coating the muffins but the coating gets a little moist as they thaw.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mini Muffin Pan (like this one or this one) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Flour: You can use whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or a mix of both. I usually make these with 1 cup (125g) all-purpose and 3/4 cup (95g) whole wheat flour.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/2 teaspoon each: ground allspice and ground ginger AND 1/4 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg and ground cloves. This is in addition to the 1 teaspoon of cinnamon—you will still add that.
- Regular Size Muffins: Makes 12 regular size muffins. Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners or spray with nonstick spray. Fill muffin cups all the way to the top with batter. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C), then keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce temperature to 350°F (177°C) and bake for an additional 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total times these muffins take in the oven is about 20-21 minutes. The initial high temperature helps create tall muffin tops. You’ll love it!
- Donut Pan: To make these in a donut pan, grease a donut pan generously. Spoon the batter into the donut cavities—for ease, I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, they’re done. Cool donuts for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter. Continue with step 5 above.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Perfection! My 6 year old has requested more ever since I made them the first time ❤️
Delicious and easy to make!
Do you just dunk the top or the whole muffin in the butter?
Hi AR, we do the whole muffin, but you can certainly do just the tops if you prefer.
Would it work to make night before and then coat with buttet and sugar next morning?
Hi Tamar, it’s best to do the butter and topping when the muffins are slightly warm. You could microwave them and then try the next morning.
I wasn’t sure if I could substitute all purpose flour for cake flour so I tried it…it worked fabulously. Most of the ingredients were the same except I ditched the vanilla extract and I doubled the pumpkin spice. One hundred percent love how this turned out. I don’t think vanilla would have made a difference since I doubled the pumpkin spice (I didn’t have any vanilla extract in the cupboard). I will definitely make it this way again. The husband loved it too!
I love this recipe and my kitchen smelled amazing! I made the muffins exactly as written, however, when it came to coating I changed it a little… I only dipped the tops in melted butter and then only the tops in the cinnamon/sugar mixture to cut down on my sugar consumption.
Can these be made with a gluten free one-to-one flour instead of the whole wheat?
Hi Shannon, we haven’t tested it, but let us know if you do!
We did it! Gluten free flour (King Arthur’s Measure for Measure) and dairy free butter/milk. Turned out DELISH!!!!
What could you use instead the butter to make it dairy free ? Not so keen on the margarine flavour… would coconut oil work here ?
Hi Jordan, we would recommend picking up a vegan butter alternative (such as Earth Balance) for best flavor… coconut oil would work as the substitute for butter in the batter, but will lend a noticeable flavor to the muffins if you use it to roll the muffins in. If you don’t mind the flavor of coconut oil, go ahead and use it. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
can I make the batter the night before and bake them in the morning?
Hi Shylah, we don’t recommend it, because the baking powder is activated once you mix together with liquids, so they should be baked soon after that. I would recommend baking the muffins the night before, and then rolling them in the melted butter + cinnamon-sugar in the morning.
I made these last Saturday. They are delicious!!
Big fan of these muffins. I only made them because I had leftover pumpkin after opening a can for the no-bake cheesecake from this page and it was exactly the right amount for this recipe. Super easy to make and came out great. I didn’t bother with the sugar etc on the outside, just had them plain but still really tasty made with the 125g plain flour, 95g wholemeal as suggested and the texture is perfect.
I made it without the topping as well and thought it was just fine. It’s still tasty and makes for a good snack.
These are INCREDIBLE! I did the recipe adjustment for full-sized muffins. They taste like donuts! Thanks for the recipe.
I loved this recipe SO much! They are so easy AND I only used 2 bowls and 1 pan (I hate doing dishes after I bake)! They tasted SO good! I would totally recommend it to my friends! I will definitely be raving about my new favorite fall recipe for years to come!! Thank you Sally for such an amazing recipe!
By the way, I used a donut pan and they came out perfect!
Can these muffins be frozen? Would gluten free all purpose flour work?
Hi Janet, It’s best to freeze the mini muffins before coating in butter and cinnamon-sugar. See recipe notes for more detail. We are not experts in gluten free baking, but it should be okay! Let us know how they turn out!
Really good! I added an extra tsp of pumpkin pie spice per someone else’s comment and I’m happy I did! easy and fun recipe to do with kids too (made with my 4 year old).
I’m back to add- if you’re making these on a Saturday and your family might not eat all 24, I’d recommend only buttering and coating half at first. We did all 24 and while the donuts stayed delicious and fresh tasting the next day, the coating was definitely wet and the container was full of melted butter. Still edible, just not AS appetizing looking as the first day!
These were so yummy. The whole family gobbled them up in one day! I don’t really like pumpkin but I like these, it wasn’t too overpowering.
Great recipe! Can I bake these and coat them with the butter and sugar the following day. I don’t plan on eating them the same day. Thank you!
What an easy, tasty treat! Made them yesterday to serve as a sweet bite at the end of Friday Family Dinner and they were a delight. I could have probably made them smaller and had 28 but I just loaded up my pan so they were all 2 bites. Very easy and quick to put together. Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
We love these Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins! Easy to make and perfect with a glass of milk, tea or coffee!!
Sally; I went to A. Brown’s webpage and saw the video; he had a large orange coloured pumpkin so I will look for one of these if I find it, I am in Canada (Stratford) not a large place and can’t always find what we need; good spices are also not easy to find; that said; thank you for the info, I love your recipes. One other question if you don’t mind, how long do you keep your Baking Soda & Powder?
Hi Tula, we find they start to lose their effectiveness after 3 months, even if not yet expired.
Hi Sally; can you tell me what kind of pumpkin do I use to make the puree
Hi Tula, you can buy pumpkin puree (100% pumpkin) in a can, or other readers have reported making fresh pumpkin puree this way: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-puree-recipe-1922629
Now that I have tried two of your dessert recipes I decided to scroll through your site to see what other recipes you have! These mini cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins caught my attention since fall is around the corner. This would be great to bring to the office and share with the wonderful ladies I work with.
I do have one question: in the recipe, there is an option to use either all whole wheat flour or half whole wheat and half AP. Which choice do you prefer in terms of texture?
Hi Delia, it really depends on the texture you’re looking for. All whole wheat flour will lend a denser, slightly heavier muffin, whereas the half and half option will be a bit lighter. We usually make these with 1 cup (125g) all-purpose and 3/4 cup (95g) whole wheat flour. We hope they’re a big hit!
Hi! Could I use whole wheat pastry flour for the these? I’ve made them before with AP and they were fantastic. Just trying to be a bit healthier.
Hi Sarah, that sub should work okay in this recipe. Let us know if you try it!
Yummy !!! Like Pumpkin mini donuts!!
I like to add chocolate chips to pretty much everything I bake, would that work for this recipe?
Hi Bec, absolutely—we’d do about 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
Super easy and fun to make. The pumpkin flavor was strong enough and the cinnamon sugar was a perfect touch. Everyone loved them!
I have not seen pumpkin puree sold in the UK. Would I roast a fresh pumpkin then puree it? Does it have added sugar when bought in a can?
Hi Jayne, you could certainly try making your own puree. Other readers have reported making fresh pumpkin puree this way: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-puree-recipe-1922629 Pumpkin puree in the can is simply pureed pumpkin, with no added sugars or ingredients. Hope this helps and that you’re able to give these muffins a try!
The mini muffin pan won’t make little round doughnut holes, how did you do it?
Hi Pamela, you’re exactly right! In some of the photos, you can see the mini muffin shape at the bottom. The tops are domed and round though.
Can you make the batter the day before and store in refrigerator for the morning?
Hi Sarah, we don’t recommend it. The baking powder is activated once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, and it’s best to make the muffins shortly thereafter.
You asked about making the batter in advance. What I like to do is mix the dry ingredients (flour through salt in this recipe) and set them aside and then mix the wet ingredients and refrigerate it. In this recipe you will have to melt the butter and add it into the wet ingredients on the day you bake because otherwise it’ll clump up and harden in the fridge. This is a neat trick for lots of baked goods that you may want to fix in the morning, even things like homemade pancakes and waffles.
Any recommendations on how/if I could swap the egg out (allergies!)? Thanks!!
Hi Leigh Ann, we haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes, but let us know if you try anything!
I am interested too! I am tempted to try a ‘flax egg’. Will post if I do. But would love to hear if anyone else tries a substitute.
1/4 cup seltzer in lieu of one egg works great (this is true for all muffin recipes I’ve tried).
Could you make these in a donut pan?
Yes. See recipe Note for detailed instructions.