Gluten Free Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Super soft and fluffy gluten free pumpkin muffins with streusel topping. Filled with spices and topped with streusel and icing, they are a beloved recipe.
This gluten free pumpkin streusel muffin recipe was one of the first posted here on LBA! It’s gotten a little makeover and has lots of new info to help you make the best batch ever.
Free from: Wheat, gluten, dairy (optional), casein (optional), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, and more
Pumpkin muffins are a delicious part of baking, packed full of cinnamon spice and tons of pumpkin. And then topped with a streusel topping and a drizzle of icing, these gems are perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dessert!
For a muffin recipe that is gluten free and vegan, check out these pumpkin muffins. For a copycat recipe, make sure to make my gluten free Starbucks pumpkin bread.
Why You’ll Love these Pumpkin Muffins
- Easy to make
- Super soft and fluffy texture
- Packed full of spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves
- Topped with cinnamon sugar streusel and icing
- Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dessert, or a snack!
- Gluten free recipe and dairy free option
Ingredients
- Pumpkin: This recipe uses a whole 15oz can of pumpkin which is a lot of pumpkin! If you are using homemade pumpkin make sure to blot some of the extra moisture out.
- Butter: I’ve made this with US style butter, European style butter, and non-dairy butter. They all work fantastic in this recipe.
- Gluten free flour: My personal favorite is to use King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour. It has a good blend of different grains and includes the xanthan gum. My own homemade nightshade free gluten free flour would be great as well.
- Spices: Cinnamon, all spice, and cloves are my favorite! If you like to add nutmeg feel free to do so. I’m just not a fan of that spice. Also, you can use pumpkin pie spice if that is quicker.
- Other ingredients you’ll need: White sugar, eggs, molasses, baking powder, and salt.
Allergy Substitutions
Want to make this dairy free? Replace the dairy butter with your favorite dairy free butter. I recommend that you use dairy free butter sticks and not out of a tub as the fat:water ratios are different. Earth Balance and “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” are two of my favorites.
Avoiding corn? Make sure that your powdered sugar, baking powder, and vanilla extract are all corn free. Shop my favorite corn free baking products here.
Instructions
Made with simple ingredients, these gluten free pumpkin streusel muffins come together quickly.
For the full recipe, complete with ingredient measurements, please see the recipe card below.
These muffins use what is called the reverse creaming technique. This is a a cake making technique that works amazingly well on all things gluten free.
To start, you combine the dry ingredients with a softened butter. This makes something that looks like wet sand, and is strange I know! But trust the process.
Doing this mixing method helps to emulsify the fats in the butter into the gluten free flour. It also happens to be the method a lot of box cake mixes use by mixing the fats and flours together. That is why box cake mixes and muffin mixes taste so different!
The result is a rich buttery texture and soft crumb that works amazing in gluten free recipes.
- Mix the wet ingredients together, minus the butter.
- Sift the dry ingredients together.
- Cream the butter in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter. Mix until it looks like wet sand.
- Add the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.
- Fill the muffin cups up almost all the way. Let them rest for 10 minutes on the countertop while you mix up the streusel topping.
- Mix up the streusel topping with a fork and spoon one tablespoon onto each muffin.
- Bake for 25 or so minutes. Drizzle with icing sugar when cooled if desired!
Spiced Streusel Topping
Now, these muffins are delicious just on their own. But, they get taken to a whole new level when topped with a spiced streusel topping!
The crumb topping has gluten free flour, white sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, and a pinch of salt. Mix all the ingredients together until crumbs form. I find that mixing with a fork gets me the best results. It should look like wet sand when ready.
Finally, mixing together a bit of powdered sugar and water gives that bakery style finish on top of the muffins. Drizzle it on after the muffins have cooled for the perfect touch.
Top Muffin Tips
- Mix the batter and then let it rest! Gluten free flours need about 10 minutes to really hydrate the grains. By letting it rest, you will get a softer and less grainy final result.
- Don’t open the oven door for the first 20 minutes of baking. The steam gathers in the oven and helps to lift the muffins up. If you open it too soon, the muffins will deflate.
- Use tall muffin cups. The tall sides of the paper muffin cups help the gluten free muffins climb up the sides. They then get a beautiful rise on each muffin.
Want to know my favorite products? I’ve curated a list of all my favorite cooking and baking essentials. Everything from baking sheet to corn free baking powder and more. Shop my favorites!
How to Store
Countertop: Store fully baked and cooled muffins in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 4 days. By day 3 they will begin to dry out slightly. Reheat in the microwave with a little butter for a warm muffin.
Fridge: I don’t recommend storing these muffins in the fridge as they dry out more quickly.
Freezer: Store the fully baked and cooled muffins in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allow them to thaw on the countertop for at least 4 hours before serving after freezing.
More Pumpkin Recipes
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Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Muffin liners
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
Pumpkin Muffins
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ¾ cup gluten free flour see note for recommendations
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup gluten free flour same as in muffin
- ¼ cup white sugar can swap for brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Icing
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- Mix streusel. In a medium sized bowl, combine the melted butter with gluten free flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Mix using a fork or pastry cutter to get crumbly topping. Set aside.
Pumpkin Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a 12 tray muffin pan with tall paper liners. Set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, molasses, and pumpkin. Set this aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Whip the butter. In the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the butter on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Combine the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the whipped butter. On low speed, mix the butter and dry ingredients together. This coats each gluten free grain in butter, making for a better muffin. Let this mix together for a good 4 to 5 minutes or until it resembles wet sand. Now, add the wet ingredients to this mixture and mix on medium until well combined.
- Transfer to pans. Carefully scoop the muffin batter into the 12 prepared muffin cups. Fill them up almost to the top. Now, let them rest for 10 minutes before topping and baking. This is a critical step to ensuring you have a soft muffin.
- Top with streusel. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of streusel topping onto each muffin.
- Bake. Bake the pumpkin muffins for 25 to 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean. Remove them from the oven and let rest in the hot pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Icing
- Make icing. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar with water until a thick frosting comes together. Drizzle on top of muffins.
Notes
- How to Store
- Countertop: Store fully baked and cooled muffins in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 4 days. By day 3 they will begin to dry out slightly. Reheat in the microwave with a little butter for a warm muffin.
- Fridge: I don’t recommend storing these muffins in the fridge as they dry out more quickly.
- Freezer: Store the fully baked and cooled muffins in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allow them to thaw on the countertop for at least 4 hours before serving after freezing.
- Allergy Substitutions
- Want to make this dairy free? Replace the dairy butter with your favorite dairy free butter. I recommend that you use dairy free butter sticks and not out of a tub as the fat:water ratios are different. Earth Balance and “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” are two of my favorites.
- To make this corn free, ensure that the powdered sugar, baking powder, and vanilla extract are all corn free. Make sure to check out my shop page for my favorite corn free baking products.
- LivingBeyondAllergies.com
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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