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These are the real deal, the best maple pecan muffins you’ll ever try!
After testing and perfecting muffin recipes for six months, I’ve mastered the techniques for creating bakery-style muffins and worked them into a few easy, step-by-step instructions so you can make foolproof, wow-factor muffins at home!
The Only Maple Pecan Muffins Recipe You’ll Ever Need
These are one of my favorite muffins in my muffin collection, because they are perfect for any time of the day. Need an easy breakfast with your morning coffee? Maple pecan muffin. Craving a snack? Maple pecan muffin. Ready for dessert? You get the idea.
Not only do the pecans and maple flavor really shine through in this recipe, but if you’re looking for perfectly moist muffins, this is the recipe! The sweetness of the maple syrup pairs perfectly with the nuttiness of the pecans, and these muffins are extra flavorful thanks to the perfect amounts of cinnamon and vanilla extract.
The best part? You don’t need any baking experience to master this recipe. With just 10 minutes of prep time, and easy-to-follow steps, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make these!
Why You’ll Love These Maple Pecan Muffins
Your whole family is going to fall in love with these muffins and beg you to make them all the time. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Here are a few of my favorite things about this recipe:
- Addictive maple pecan flavor
- Only 10 minutes of prep time
- Great for breakfast, snacks, dessert, or late-night snacks!
- Moist, soft muffins with tender crumb
- Tall and domed muffin tops (bakery style!)
What You’ll Need for Maple Pecan Muffins
This maple pecan muffin recipe uses very basic ingredients that combine to make delicious muffins with the perfect texture. Get the full recipe with measurements and ingredients in the recipe card below. Here’s what you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Pecans: roughly chopped
- Eggs
- Buttermilk
- Vegetable oil
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
Crumb Topping
- All-purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Unsalted butter: melted
How to Make Maple Pecan Muffins
Just thinking about a warm maple pecan muffin and a cup of coffee makes my mouth water. Maple and pecan are a classic combination, but packed into a muffin, so good! Get the full recipe with measurements and ingredients in the recipe card below. Here are the easy steps to making delicious maple pecan muffins:
- Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and chopped pecans. Stir together and set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, stir to combine.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing by hand just until combined. The batter will be thick.
- Rest batter and prep oven. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF / 220ºC and make the crumb topping.
- Make crumb topping. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter. Use your hands to squeeze the mixture together. Set the crumb aside until ready to use.
- Line muffin pan and fill with muffin batter. For bakery style muffins, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffin liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Fill the liners with 6-8 heaping tablespoons of batter. Take the topping and crumble it into fine crumbs over each muffin, pressing it on slightly. Sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar.
- Bake and cool. Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF / 220ºC, then keep the muffins in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350ºF / 180ºC and bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan. Repeat with the remaining batter, bumping the temperature back up to 425ºF / 220ºC.
How to Create Bakery Style Muffins
Bakery style muffins are known for their domed tops. Plus who doesn’t love them? I used a few techniques to help “lift” these muffins so they would have large, domed tops!
1. The Rest Period
Let the batter rest for 15 minutes after it’s mixed and before you scoop it into the muffin pan. During the resting period, starch molecules in the flour are absorbing the liquid in the batter, causing them to swell and giving the batter a thicker consistency (ref the kitchen whisper). Our 15 minute rest is just a quick rest.
2. Fill Every Other Muffin Cup
This tip has been a game changer! For bakery style muffin tops, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffin liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Filling every other cup allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. This technique also encourages the muffins to brown, creating a golden muffin top.
3. Fill Them To The Top
Fill your muffin liners to the top with batter. Yes, this goes against everything you’re heard but it’s important in helping the muffin gain that height.
4. Bake at High Temperature Initially
Bake the muffins at a high temperature (425ºF) initially, then lower to 350ºF. Starting the muffins off at a higher temperature causes the batter to rise rapidly, setting the outer surface of the muffin, producing a dome shape.
How to Properly Measure Flour
The most accurate way to measure flour is to use a kitchen scale, weighing it in grams.
If you don’t have a kitchen scale, follow this method.
- Aerate the flour with a whisk or spoon. Flour becomes heavy and compact as it sits. Aerating is the same as fluffing the flour, but not the same as sifting it. Do not sift the flour unless the recipe specifically calls for it.
- Use a spoon to sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup. Do not tap the cup against the counter, as this will compact the flour.
- Use the back of a butter knife to level off the excess.
Tips for the Best Maple Pecan Muffins
Here are a few tips to make the perfect maple pecan muffin even better:
- Don’t skip the rest time. Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes in the mixing bowl.
- Add sanding sugar to the top of the muffins. Top the muffins with sanding sugar for a true bakery style muffin.
- Create bakery-style domed muffin tops. Filling every other cup allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. This technique also encourages the muffins to brown, creating a golden muffin top.
- Start at a higher temp, then lower. Bake at a higher temperature initially to cause the muffins to rise quickly.
Storing and Freezing Muffins
Muffin Storage
If you’ll be eating the muffins within 24 hours of baking, you can leave them uncovered on the counter. The muffins will not dry out while left at room temperature for 1 day.
In fact, muffins are so moist they can become soggy and those crunchy, sugary tops can disappear when stored in an airtight container.
But I have a trick to help that – paper towels.
For longer storage, 2-4 days, line the bottom of an airtight container with paper towels. Place the muffins in a single layer in the container then cover the muffins with any additional layer of paper towels. The paper towels will act like a sponge, absorbing the moisture they release while they are stored.
If the paper towels become too moist around day 2 or day 3, replace them with fresh paper towels.
How To Freeze Muffins
Individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap. Then place them in a ziploc bag or airtight container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To thaw, leave them at room temperature until defrosted, about 1 hour. Or unwrap them and microwave at 20 second intervals until defrosted.
How to Make Gluten Free Maple Pecan Muffins
You can make these gluten free by swapping the flour. I recommend King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour. Use it as a one for one substitute for regular flour.
More Muffin Recipes
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Maple Pecan Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, 360 grams
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, 150 grams
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups pecans, roughly chopped, 171 grams
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk, 240 ml
- ½ cup vegetable oil, 118 ml
- 1 cup maple syrup, 240 ml
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Crumb Topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 90 grams
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, 71 grams
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted, 57 grams
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and chopped pecans. Stir together and set aside.
- In a larger mixing bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, stir to combine.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing by hand just until combined. The batter will be thick.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF / 220ºC and make the crumb topping.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter. Use your hands to squeeze the mixture together. Set the crumb aside until ready to use.
- For bakery style muffins, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffin liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Fill the liners with 6-8 heaping tablespoons of batter. Take the topping and crumble it into fine crumbs over each muffin, pressing it on slightly. Sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar.
- Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF / 220ºC, then keep the muffins in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350ºF / 180ºC and bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan. Repeat with the remaining batter, bumping the temperature back up to 425ºF / 220ºC.
Fantastic! Great flavor, plenty of pecans. I made the batter the night before and refrigerated it overnight. Then made the muffins fresh in the morning. I tripled the recipe and it made 38 nice and big muffins!
Can’t wait to make these for my husband, God Blessed ALL OF US WITH YOU!
Seriously, I wasn’t sure how these would turn out. I see so many recipes online and think I can make them, then they flop! Not these! They turned out SO GOOD! I cannot tell you how delicious they are! And Beth’s method of filling every other tin is spot on! Talk about Super Domes….. mine looked like they could be in a bakery, and they tasted that way too! We enjoyed these with a cup of coffee and are already looking forward to tomorrow morning!
Everyone at the office liked these…I put a half a pecan on top to make them look extra cutey…I loved these-all my favorite flavors. Nice and moist.