These Deli-style Pumpkin Eggnog Muffins are a fabulous way to enjoy pumpkin and eggnog, two complementary flavors. These muffins are an especially wonderful treat in the fall and around the Christmas holiday period.
I am not a fan of small flat-topped muffins. That’s why, when you see the majority of my muffin recipes, the muffins will be a significant size, beautifully domed, and packed full of flavor – this is what, in my opinion, places them in the category of “gourmet”, “deli-style”, or “bistro-style” muffins. I don’t skimp on using good ingredients as I want to ensure I end up with the desired size, shape, texture, and flavor of muffins I am aiming for.
The method I use for these muffins is the standard muffin-making method. This method calls for the dry ingredients to be combined in one bowl and the sugars and wet ingredients blended in another. The key to muffins that have a lovely texture is not to overmix the batter which will cause them to be tough textured. As such, the wet ingredients are poured into a well in the center of the dry ingredients and mixed only until just barely blended.
Begin by bringing the eggs, yogurt, and eggnog to room temperature. This helps the ingredients blend together better if they are all at the same temperature.
This recipe calls for the thick Greek-or Mediterranean-style yogurt that differs from the regular type yogurts that tend to be quite runny. The regular, runny-style, yogurts will put too much moisture into this muffin batter (keep in mind that the pumpkin will be adding moisture to the batter) and alter the texture from what is intended. Either plain or vanilla Greek/Mediterranean-style yogurt will work well in this recipe.
I use a custom flour mix in many of my muffin recipes and this combination of flours is one of my favorites – all-purpose flour, sorghum flour, and superfine blanched almond flour. If the sorghum and almond flours are not ones you commonly bake with, and you wish to make these muffins, I recommend heading to your nearest bulk foods store which typically sells all kinds of flours, including these. Simply buy small amounts of the sorghum and almond flours needed for the recipe. That said, if you plan on making many of my recipes, these are flours you will often see in my list of ingredients. Why do I use them? Because they result in lovely textured baked goods.
Note that this recipe calls for pure pumpkin purée. This is NOT the same as a can of pumpkin pie filling so make sure you use pure pumpkin purée in this recipe. The can should state either “pumpkin purée” or simply “pure pumpkin“. If you have cooked your own pumpkin and wish to use it, you may find, if it is really wet after being puréed, it will need to be drained in a cheesecloth-lined sieve and/or blotted in a tea towel to remove the excess moisture which would be too much for the muffins.
Full-fat eggnog is called for in this recipe and it does contribute to lovely flavor in the muffins and pairs well with pumpkin. I do not recommend using fat-reduced eggnog in this recipe. Eggnog, at least in my location, usually appears in stores around the end of September so is available from fall to early winter.
These muffins can certainly be baked as soon as the batter is mixed; however, you may find the muffins have a bit of a higher rise and more loft if the batter is refrigerated overnight, or for at least for 5-6 hours. What does this do? Chilling the batter allows time for the flour to more fully absorb the moisture from the liquid ingredients and the eggs. This will lead to a thicker batter and better gluten development which, in the case of muffins, will help support them as they rise, nice and tall, in the oven and develop into lovely attractive looking domed muffins. It will also contribute to the development of a soft, moist, tender crumb in the muffins. Pumpkin, in particular, for some reason, can sometimes create a bit of a dense, almost slightly tough, texture in some baked goods and the chilling process, or resting period, can help reduce that possibility. Make sure to cover the batter bowl tightly when refrigerating it to ensure the batter does not dry out.
When the batter comes out of the refrigerator, you may notice some bubbles have developed. This will be as a result of the double acting baking powder used in the recipe and the refrigeration time (note that the refrigeration of the batter only works if double acting baking powder is used).
Double acting baking powder will create bubbles twice in the process. The first time will be when the wet and dry ingredients meet up and the second time will be when the muffins go into the oven. Hence the name “double acting”. Those pockets of bubbles will be what translates into muffins that have a soft crumb and overall moist texture.
If you have refrigerated the muffin batter, there is no need to bring it back to room temperature before transferring it to the prepared muffin cups. Simply preheat your oven to 475°F and prepare the muffin tray and transfer the batter to the prepared muffin cup cavities.
These Pumpkin Eggnog Muffins can be baked with plain tops or they can be dressed up with a sprinkle of roasted pumpkin seeds or they can be topped with a crumble topping (recipe included).
Paper liners can certainly be used for these muffins but if not using them, make sure each muffin cup, as well as the top of the muffin tray, are well greased or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Ensure the entire top of the muffin tray is greased as well. Even if standard paper liners the height of each muffin cup are used, ensure the muffin tray top is well greased. This will ensure easy removal of the muffins without any sticking to the pan. The exception to greasing the top of the muffin tray would be if using tulip-shaped parchment paper liners as these liners are fairly tall and will keep the muffins contained, especially if topped with crumble topping that might stick to the top of the muffin tray.
Fill the muffin tray cups at least a good ¾ full of batter and I usually fill them almost level with the tray top. This is what will yield a tall, bakery style muffin.
To get the desired dome-shaped muffin, start the muffins off in a preheated 475°F oven. The high temperature early in the baking process permits the outside of the muffin to set quickly while still allowing the inside to continue to rise into the desired gentle dome shape. Bake the muffins at 475°F for about 3 minutes then reduce the temperature to 375°F. Rotate the muffin tray part way through the baking process to ensure even baking for all muffins.
These muffins will bake, in total, for approximately 20 minutes, or so, and will be baked when they bounce back in response to a light touch, show signs of starting to pull away from the muffin cups, and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Be sure to let the muffins rest and set in the muffin tins for 5-10 minutes after they come out of the oven and before removing them from the muffin cups and transferring them to wire rack to cool.
Pumpkin Eggnog Muffins freeze well with the exception of those with a topping of roasted pumpkin seeds that tend to go a bit tough when the muffins are frozen. If using the crumble topping, I recommend freezing the muffins, single layer, in an airtight freezer container to keep the topping intact. Plain muffins with no topping may be frozen in zippered freezer bags.
Deli-style Pumpkin Eggnog Muffins
Ingredients for the Muffins:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
3 tbsp superfine blanched almond flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ginger
1/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats
½ cup sultana raisins (optional)
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature), lightly fork beaten
1/3 cup plain or vanilla Greek/Mediterranean-style yogurt, room temperature
½ cup full fat eggnog, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
Roasted pumpkin seeds for topping muffins (optional)
Ingredients for Crumble Topping (Optional):
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp quick cooking rolled oats
¼ cup brown sugar
2½ tbsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
3 tbsp melted and cooled butter
Method for the Muffins:
Set out eggs, yogurt, and eggnog to bring them to room temperature.
If baking muffins immediately, without refrigeration, position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 475°F.
Prepare muffin tray by spraying each muffin cup with non-stick cooking spray or greasing individually, ensuring the top of the muffin tin tray is also well-greased/sprayed. Alternatively, the muffin cups can be lined with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Stir in the rolled oats, and raisins and pecans (if using). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Set aside.
In medium-sized bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, sugars, eggs, yogurt, eggnog, and vanilla extract. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Mix well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until barely incorporated. Do not overmix. At this point, the muffins can be baked or the batter can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 8 hours.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the rim. If batter has been refrigerated for several hours, preheat oven to 475°F and prepare muffin tray cups as above noted. Spoon cold batter into muffin cups; there is no need to bring it back to room temperature.
Muffins may be baked plain with no toppings or, alternatively, they can be topped with the Crumble Topping (recipe below) or sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seeds.
Method for Crumble Topping:
To make crumble topping, melt and cool butter to room temperature. Whisk all dry ingredients in bowl and drizzle with the 3 tbsp room temperature melted butter. Use a fork to toss the dry ingredients with the butter. Mixture will appear dry and crumbly. Sprinkle tops of muffins generously with crumble topping.
Baking the Muffins:
Transfer muffins to oven and bake for 3 minutes at 475°F then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake, in total, for about 20 minutes or until muffins are just firm to the touch, show signs of starting to pull away from the sides of the muffin cups, and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Rotate the muffin tray part way through the baking process.
Let muffins rest in muffin cups for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Yield: 12-14 muffins
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Deli-style Pumpkin Eggnog Muffins
These Deli-style Pumpkin Eggnog Muffins are perfectly domed, moist and delicious, and loaded with warm spices. Perfect for breakfast or coffee or tea break.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Muffins:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sorghum flour
- 3 tbsp superfine blanched almond flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¾ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats
- ½ cup sultana raisins (optional)
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (room temperature), lightly fork beaten
- 1/3 cup plain or vanilla Greek/Mediterranean-style yogurt, room temperature
- ½ cup full fat eggnog, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- Roasted pumpkin seeds for topping muffins (optional)
Ingredients for Crumble Topping (Optional):
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp quick cooking rolled oats
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2½ tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 3 tbsp melted and cooled butter
Instructions
Method for the Muffins:
- Set out eggs, yogurt, and eggnog to bring them to room temperature.
- If baking muffins immediately, without refrigeration, position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 475°F.
- Prepare muffin tray by spraying each muffin cup with non-stick cooking spray or greasing individually, ensuring the top of the muffin tin tray is also well-greased/sprayed. Alternatively, the muffin cups can be lined with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Stir in the rolled oats, and raisins and pecans (if using). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In medium-sized bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, sugars, eggs, yogurt, eggnog, and vanilla extract. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until barely incorporated. Do not overmix. At this point, the muffins can be baked or the batter can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 8 hours.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the rim. If batter has been refrigerated for several hours, preheat oven to 475°F and prepare muffin tray cups as above noted. Spoon cold batter into muffin cups; there is no need to bring it back to room temperature.
- Muffins may be baked plain with no toppings or, alternatively, they can be topped with the Crumble Topping (recipe below) or sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seeds.
Method for Crumble Topping:
- To make crumble topping, melt and cool butter to room temperature. Whisk all dry ingredients in bowl and drizzle with the 3 tbsp room temperature melted butter. Use a fork to toss the dry ingredients with the butter. Mixture will appear dry and crumbly. Sprinkle tops of muffins generously with crumble topping.
Baking the Muffins:
- Transfer muffins to oven and bake for 3 minutes at 475°F then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake, in total, for about 20 minutes or until muffins are just firm to the touch, show signs of starting to pull away from the sides of the muffin cups, and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Rotate the muffin tray part way through the baking process.
- Let muffins rest in muffin cups for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
Yield: 12-14 muffins
Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen
You may also enjoy these other muffin recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen:
Raspberry Lemon Muffins
Mincemeat Muffins
Peach Pecan Muffins
Strawberry Muffins
Zucchini Granola Muffins
Cranberry Banana Eggnog Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Rhubarb and Orange Muffins
Bran Muffins
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