Pumpkin Churro Mini Muffins

These Pumpkin Churro Mini Muffins are super moist, loaded with fall flavors and coated in a "churro" coating. They're cute, pop-able and nearly impossible to have "just one!"

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My favorite food season has always been fall. Pumpkin, apple, butternut squash.....such warm, cozy flavors that make me want to be in the kitchen! These mini muffins are the absolute BEST way to kick off pumpkin season!

Why I Love these Mini Pumpkin Muffins

• They're moist, fluffy, perfectly spiced, delicious mini muffins with incredible pumpkin flavor.
• They're small, so they don't take long to bake. I'm impatient, so this is important! 😉
• They can be enjoyed for breakfast, a morning snack, after-school snack or even dessert!
• Customizable!  Stir some mini chocolate chips into the batter or top with cream cheese frosting for a decadent mini dessert!
• They're the perfect size (like little donut holes!), especially for little hands!  However, you can make regular muffins, too!

Ingredients for Mini Pumpkin Muffins

Luckily, these are likely all ingredients you have at home! (Especially if you've been stocking up on pumpkin puree gearing up for fall!) Yep, my cupboard has been stocked for a couple months now! No shame. 😉

• All-Purpose Flour
• Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Pumpkin Pie Spice (store-bought or homemade)
• Eggs
• Pumpkin Puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• Melted Butter - Cool to room temperature so it doesn't cook the eggs when whisked together; you can opt to use vegetable oil if you wish.
• Ground Cinnamon

How to Make Pumpkin Churro Mini Muffins

Preheat the oven and grease your mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

​Make the Muffins

In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs, pumpkin and melted butter).  You can use a handheld whisk or opt to use an electric mixer. 

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Next, pour the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined.  

Use a small cookie scoop to fill each muffin cup about ¾ full and bake.

Coat the Muffins

Stir together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.  Roll each warm muffin into the mixture and roll until evenly coated.

The cinnamon sugar coating is what gives these muffins the "churro" effect.  If you can't get the mixture to stick to the muffins, you can give them a light mist of cooking spray and then roll them into the cinnamon sugar.  

Speed up the process by mixing the cinnamon sugar in a large resealable bag then adding the muffins and shaking to coat.  This takes much less time than rolling each little muffin.

Can I make these into full-sized muffins?

Absolutely. I tested these out as mini muffins and as standard sized muffins. Both turned out really great! As expected, the larger muffins had a longer bake time, but just by a few minutes at the same temperature.

If you'd like to make these in cupcake liners, you can, but won't get the full effect of the cinnamon sugar coating. However, you can certainly still dunk the top into the coating and they'll be delicious!

How long can I store these mini muffins?

These muffins, like any muffin really, are best the day they're made. However, I happily tested these out for several days after making them and I can assure you of two things.... 1. It was a very tasty quality check and 2. Yes, you can keep them for 5 days in an airtight container and still have a GREAT muffin.

Now I will warn you, if you don't plan to eat these the same day you make them, I recommend holding off on the cinnamon sugar coating. Save that for the day you serve them (as the coating tends to "melt" in an airtight container). If it does "melt," no worries - simply mix up a little more cinnamon sugar mix and coat them again!

If you want to make these a week or even a month in advance (say you've got a fall open house, baby or bridal shower to prepare for), you definitely can. Simply hold off on the coating and freeze the muffins in a freezer bag or an airtight container. It'll save you time on the days leading up to your event and you'll still have moist and delicious muffins to serve!

How to make the best muffins....

Muffins are really quite simple to make, but like anything, there are certainly ways to make them less than ideal. Below are a couple tips to read before getting started!

Baking soda: Check the expiration date on your container before using. If the date has passed, it'll be worth buying a new container so your muffins don't end up flat! (Baking soda works as the leavening agent in these muffins and is needed to get the ideal texture)

Stirring: It's important to stir this batter until it's just combined. No need to whip these up for several minutes. Over-mixing a muffin batter can give them very pointy tops and give them a tougher, less delicate texture.

Pumpkin: Be sure to use pumpkin puree and not the prepared pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is just that - pureed pumpkin! (Whereas the pie filling would have added sugar, spices, etc).  You can use homemade pumpkin puree as long as it isn't too watery.

Baking: Especially when making mini muffins, the timing is important. The amount of time it takes to fully cook these pumpkin mini muffins depends on your oven, your muffin tin, and how full the cavities are filled. I'd recommend peeking into the oven after about 9 minutes to see how they're coming along.

They may be done and they may need several more minutes. However, check every minute or two, because they bake up quickly!! You want to pull them out of the oven when they are just done, so they're super moist and have a great texture. If you leave them in the oven too long, they'll begin to dry out.

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