Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins are moist, golden, high rise corn muffins, and a delicious answer to what’s going to round out dinner tonight. Make them in just minutes, in one bowl!
pumpkin cornbread muffins are savory, not sweet
I’ve been inaugurating fall with my pumpkin cornbread forever, but this year I thought it would be fun to scoop the batter into a muffin tin. I was rewarded with moist fluffy muffins with perfectly domed tops. Even with the touch of brown sugar, these muffins aren’t dessert, which makes them so much more versatile than those verging-on-cupcakes kind of muffins. They’ll make a meal out of your favorite chili or soup, and they’re the perfect side for just about any fall dinner, especially Thanksgiving. Pile them in a pretty basket and serve with some honey, cranberry butter, or maple butter on the side.
here’s what you’ll need:
Cornbread is famously quick and easy to make, in just one bowl, and these muffins are no different (just dump into the bowl in the order listed!)
- canned pumpkin ~ you can use fresh made if you like. I would recommend cooking it down in a saucepan to reduce some of the water content in that case. You want it to be a spoon-able not pour-able texture.
- eggs
- brown sugar ~ either light or dark
- vegetable oil ~ you can substitute melted butter if you like
- molasses ~ don’t skip this fabulous ingredient, it adds flavor, sweetness, and moisture. Avoid buying ‘blackstrap’ molasses, which is very strong and can be bitter.
- buttermilk ~ substitute regular milk or half and half
- cinnamon
- salt
- baking powder
- cornmeal
- all purpose flour
I love to bake with pumpkin pureé
Pumpkin pureé does many wonderful things to baked goods, it works similarly to its relative, the zucchini. It adds:
- moisture and softness
- vibrant color
- flavor
- subtle sweetness
- a nutritional boost!
There’s something about pumpkin that creates the most amazing texture, I’m a big fan of baking with it. It troubleshoots the most common issue people have with cornbread, which is that it tends to be dry and crumbly.
did you know?
- Pumpkin can be used an an egg substitute: use 1/4 cup for each egg in a recipe
- Pumpkin can be used in place of oil or butter: use 1:1 ratio for oil, and use just 3/4 of the amount for butter.
Pumpkin corn muffins are a last minute dinner solution
Not the best meal planner? It’s hard to think of another satisfying bread that is as quick and easy to cook. So even when you don’t plan ahead, you can have these in the oven in just a few minutes with pantry ingredients. They go especially well with chili (how about Slow Cooked Hatch Pepper Chili or Easy Meat Lovers Chili?)
Reheat your muffins
About 20 seconds in the microwave turns a room temperature muffin into a soft, steamy, butter-melting muffin. Yum!
They freeze well too
Cool completely, then wrap them individually in plastic. Then I like to put them in freezer containers or heavy duty zip lock bags.
Because I know you’re craving pumpkin
- Cranberry Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Pumpkin Spice Biscuits
- Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Cornbread
- Pumpkin Cornbread Stuffing
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Equipment
- a muffin tin
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1/3 cup buttermilk (substitute milk or half and half)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (substitute cardamom or ginger)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F Grease and flour a muffin tin, or use paper muffin liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the first 8 ingredients together (pumpkin through salt.) Make sure everything gets well incorporated.
- Whisk in the baking powder, corn meal, and flour, mixing until just combined, but don't over beat this. I usually switch to a silicone spoon at the end.
- Use a standard ice cream scoop to fill 10-12 muffin cups fairly full. My muffin tin is on the large size so I got 10 muffins from my batter.
- Bake for about 20-22 minutes until the muffins are fully risen. The tops should spring back when lightly touched. If your muffins are smaller than mine they will take a shorter time. Try not to over bake as they will dry out.
- Let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes in the tin, and then run a blunt knife around the edges to loosen before turning out onto a cooling rack. If you use muffin liners you can pop them out immediately.
- Serve warm with butter and honey. The muffins can be reheated for 20-30 seconds in the microwave.
I have one lonely can of pumpkin sitting in the cabinet. I was looking for a recipe for corn muffins and this popped up. It is a sign that I need to use the lonely can of pumpkin =)
Definitely 😉