Mini Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Hello every body!

Today I had a thought, and I realized that I don’t thank those of you who have been checking out my blog on a regular basis nearly enough, and for that I apologize! So allow me to rectify this injustice right now by saying thank you SOOOO much for stopping by today! Honestly, I am so grateful to everybody who takes the time to check out my website, read my blog posts and try out my recipes in their own homes. It truly means so much to me that you are even remotely interested in my baking escapades, so thank you so much for reading :):):) xoxoxox

And now back to the goods – and lets be honest what you really came here for… and that would be these Mini Pumpkin Spice Muffins. Is it just me or are all baked goods more desirable when they are in miniature form??? I personally think so – in fact I would go so far as to say that most things in life are more desirable when they are in miniature form… wouldn’t you agree?

Cole and I were recently given possibly the most wonderful gift that somebody could give… now what on earth could I be talking about you ask? I will give you a hint… Starbucks… Any guesses? No, not a Starbucks card (although, in my mind, you can never go wrong with a Starbucks card.) Alright, enough with the guessing game… we were given a Starbucks Verisimo machine!!! Ta daaaaaa!

So needless to say, I am absolutely head over heels in love with this little gadget and I think it’s safe to say that that my latte making has officially gotten out of hand. Wait – hang on a second… did I just say that my latte making has gotten out of hand? Is it actually possible for latte making to get out of hand…? Hmmm… After some contemplation on this matter I have decided that NO, it is not possible for latte making to get out of hand, so please scratch my earlier comment from the official record.

However, what I will say, is that my latte consumption has indeed gone up since we received this amazing present, but what kind of person would I be if I complained about an increase in latte’s??? Well, I would be a very strange person if I did that… or just a person who doesn’t like latte’s (which in its own way is slightly strange to me) … I digress. So the reason I am loving this machine so much, is because it means that I can make myself latte’s but with almond milk instead of regular milk! Not only do I love the taste, but it is literally 1/3 of the calories. Woop woop! The one thing that disappoints me the most about Starbucks is their lack of almond milk – does anybody else share in this disappointment? Well Starbucks, if you can’t carry it, I will just be enjoying almond milk latte’s from the comfort of my own home then! Not to mention I will be reveling in the extra cash I have from skipping my daily Starbucks run. I think this is a win win situation.

So this morning I was looking for something to pair with my almond milk latte, and I immediately thought of these Mini Pumpkin Spice Muffins. Not only are they small and adorable to look at, but this also means that just eating one is like eating 1/3 of a usual sized muffin. So in keeping with the theme of my skinny almond milk latte, I felt I should stick with the theme of less calories for my coffee break pairing. So I whipped up a quick batch of these little muffins and in no time at all I was off to work with my morning latte in one hand and a basket of mini muffins in the other so that I could share this morning bliss with everybody at work.

Let’s just say these muffins definitely didn’t dissapoint! They lasted less than three minutes in our staff room and everybody was raving about the flavour all day long! These are the perfect morning muffin, and their size makes them the perfect snack to share. So whip up a batch of these yourself with the recipe below!

Mini Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Makes: 48 mini muffins
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 18-25 minutes

Things you need…

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ginger

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 brown sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs, room temp
16 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup toasted pecans

Crunchy Crumb Topping
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup demerera sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon

How to make… 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease two 24 hole mini muffin pans or line with mini parchment cupcake liners; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and salt; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, apple cider and buttermilk; set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, being sure to scrape down the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla and beat until fluffy. Slowly add the pumpkin puree, apple cider and buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated.
Note: **The mixture will look slightly broken, but don’t worry as it will come together when you fold it into the dry ingredients.**

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Use a spatula to fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just incorporated. Gently fold in toasted pecans, being very careful not to over mix.

Crunchy Crumb Topping
In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until crumbly and combined.

Fill greased muffin holes right up to the top and top with crunchy crumb topping, covering the whole top of the muffin with the crumb.  Bake mini muffins for 18-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown and spring back to the touch.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, remove muffins from muffin pan to cool on a rack and just basque for a moment in that amazing pumpkin spice smell… Mmmmhhhmmmmm yes!

These muffins are so flavourful, moist, and light – everything you want in a perfect little bite sized muffin package! LOVEEEEE! My favourite way to eat these muffins is warm from the oven with the aromas of pumpkin spice still fresh in the air! Mmmm pumpkin spice…

 The fresh and sweet flavour from the apple cider paired with buttermilk gives these muffins an amazing richness that is perfect with the combination of the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. All in all, you have the perfect Pumpkin Spice Muffin here!

This muffin is perfect for chilly fall and winter mornings, because the flavour is sure to warm you up! I hope you enjoy these little gems as much as I do!

Happy Baking!

KP xoxo