Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins (Extra Fluffy, Not Dense!)
The best gluten-free pumpkin muffins with cream cheese glaze and crumb topping rival any recipe out there! Banish dense and heavy and sink your teeth into these light and fluffy pumpkin muffins!
In a small bowl place all the crumb topping ingredients. Use a small spoon to combine thoroughly. Set aside.
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, ⅔ cup gluten free all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375°F. Liberally grease a muffin pan or use paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan (all the ingredients will be added to the saucepan, so make sure it is big enough) combine the canned pumpkin, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. The mixture will reduce as the liquid from the pumpkin evaporates.
1 cup canned pumpkin puree, ¾ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, pinch teaspoon ground cloves
Remove from heat and add sugar, brown sugar, and cream cheese. Whisk vigorously until cream cheese melts and smoothly combines in the mixture.
½ cup sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 ounces cream cheese
Add eggs, vanilla, milk, and oil. Whisk to combine.
2 eggs, 1 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons milk or non-dairy milk
To the pumpkin mixture add flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until well combined and no flour pockets remain.
1 ¼ cups gluten free all purpose flour, ¾ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Divide batter between the 12 muffin tins about 2/3 full and smooth tops. Sprinkle on crumb topping and press firmly down on top so topping sticks to muffin tops. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before lifting out of pan to cool completely on wire rack.
While muffins are cooling, prepare glaze. Place all the cream cheese glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and use a hand mixer to blend on low speed.
2 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, ¾ cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk or non-dairy milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Once the ingredients are combined, increase speed to medium high and beat until glaze is very smooth. It should be a pourable consistency. Add additional milk or powdered sugar to thin or thicken. Place a large sheet of waxed paper under cooling rack to catch drips then use a small spoon to drizzle over crumb topping.
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Notes
Pumpkin muffin additions
Transform these muffins by your own by adding your favorite mix-ins! Enjoy gluten free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Pumpkin Nut Muffins, and many more varieties with this recipe!Add up to 1 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds), chocolate chips, coconut, dried cranberries, raisins, or chopped dates after all the other ingredients have been added to the batter.
Storing / freezing instructions
The cream cheese glaze does not harden like regular powdered sugar glazes, so you'll need to take some extra precautions when storing and freezing to keep the keep the tops from sticking.Store in a single layer in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature. Gluten free baked goods do not have the shelf life like regular ones, so I usually freeze leftovers right away.After the muffins have completely cooled place a square of waxed paper loosely on top of the glaze, wrap the muffins individually in plastic wrap and store in a single layer in a ziplock freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze up to 3 months.
Substituting pumpkin pie spice?
Instead of using ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, substitute one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
Dairy-Free adaptation
Since the batter uses oil instead of butter, they're easily transformable into a gluten free and dairy free recipe. For the milk and cream cheese, simply swap out with your favorite non-dairy substitutes. For the topping, either use a simple cinnamon sugar mixture, like the topping on Zucchini Blueberry Bread, or omit it entirely. Alternatively use melted coconut oil or vegan butter stick in place of the butter for the crumb topping. Adapted from Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread and America's Test Kitchen