These soft and caky pumpkin muffins are studded with dates and nuts. They’re perfect alongside coffee or tea for breakfast or an afternoon snack!
The fall cooking and baking bug has officially got its teeth in me. I am finding myself craving time in the kitchen and feeling all sorts of creativity and inspiration flowing. I think the start of new seasons tends to bring this since you’re presented with a whole new array of ingredients and flavors to work with!
My first pumpkin baked good of the season was these delicious pumpkin muffins with dates and nuts. They feature just the right balance of spice and sweet while also being very caky, fluffy and moist. I know you’ll love them! I adapted the recipe from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, Joy of Cooking.
The ingredients line up features the good stuff – butter, sugar, flour and eggs. What makes these muffins special is the pumpkin pie spice along with the addition of dates and nuts. No pumpkin pie spice? You can easily make your own at home. Here’s a great resource.
The batter is simple to prepare and comes together in under 10 minutes.
It yields 12 regular sized muffins. You can bake them in liners or in a greased pan. As you can see here, both work. (I ran out of liners.) I love baking muffins these pans. They cook extremely evenly and well.
After about 25 minutes in the oven they come out smelling all sorts of amazing.
The first time I baked these Tanner and I both agreed that the sugar could be cut back a bit. We also agreed that they would be delicious topped with icing (haha) so clearly we didn’t have that big of an issue with the sugar but I did cut back on it this go round and it made a big difference in the flavor. I think that backing off the sugar a bit really allowed the pumpkin spice flavor to come through.
I hope you guys will add these muffins to your list of fall baking projects. They’re sure to be a hit with the whole family and I’m pretty sure your co-workers would love to see these show up at the office too!
And a note, I was tempted to leave out the dates and nuts but don’t do it! These two elements add a lot to the muffins. I’ve used pecans and walnuts and both are great.
If you can stop yourself from polishing off the batch of muffins when they’re fresh and warm from the oven, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place them in a gallon bag. They freeze wonderfully. Just pop one out of the freezer anytime you want to enjoy a muffin and defrost in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds on power of 50%.
Here’s the recipe for my soft and caky pumpkin muffins with dates and nuts.
Soft and Caky Pumpkin Muffins with Dates and Nuts
More pumpkin favorites:
Paleo Pumpkin and Banana Muffins
Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl
Pumpkin Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Favorite pumpkin baking recipe? If you had to pick just one!?
