These Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins are rich and moist, yet still have a fluffy and airy inside. They’re truly bakery style muffins full of fall flavors and use a whole can of pumpkin so you're not left with any extras.

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We love these pumpkin muffins!
Fall baking is one of my favorite activities as the air gets cooler this time of year. There’s something so cozy about filling the house with warm, welcoming scents and these Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins do just that.
When biting into these Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins you’ll see the fluffy air pockets with rich butterscotch chips that melt in your mouth with each bite. They’re also made in one bowl, making them a quick and easy dessert you can whip up in no time just like these Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins, too.
What’s also great about these Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins is that they use a whole can of pumpkin. In my opinion, recipes that call for just a half a cup of pumpkin are inconvenient because you feel obligated to make three more pumpkin recipes that week until you’re sick of it or the extra sits in your fridge for days or weeks until it goes bad and you have to toss it. Team no waste!
And if you're looking to do some more fall baking, also check out this Maple Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling, this Low Sugar Pumpkin Bread, these Healthier Carrot Cake Bars, or these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies, which I know you'll love, too!
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Recipe Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour - The base of our muffins. I’ve not tested any substitutes.
- Canned Pumpkin - We will use the whole can in these Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins, which is fabulous because I never know what to do with a half can of pumpkin in my fridge.
- Light Brown Sugar - Brown sugar creates a richer, more caramel-y flavor in these muffins as compared to white sugar.
- Maple Syrup - Adds more sweetness in liquid form for extra moisture. It also helps bring out the fall flavors.
- Butterscotch Chips - Butterscotch is a combination of butter, caramelized sugars, and molasses. It’s richness pairs so well with pumpkin in these muffins.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make This Recipe
1. First, preheat your oven to 350°F and melt your butter in a microwave mixing bowl in 30 second intervals until completely liquid. Then, add the rest of the wet ingredients (eggs, canned pumpkin, maple syrup, and olive oil) to the mixing bowl and beat until well combined. Then, beat in brown sugar.
2. Once wet ingredients are mixed, add dry ingredients to the bowl (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon). Leave out the butterscotch chips for now.
3. Mix batter thoroughly. You want to be sure no flour clumps remain and ingredients are completely combined (I highly recommend a hand mixer. A whisk or fork can help get any flour chunks out too).
4. Once your Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffin batter is smooth throughout, add in butterscotch chips and stir.
5. Distribute batter evenly between 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin. The muffin liners will be close to full (these are bakery style muffins and we want them to have large tops). Add additional butterscotch chips on top. Bake muffins for 22-27 minutes until they have risen and a tooth pick inserted comes out completely clean.
6. Once your Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins are finished baking, melt butterscotch chips and drizzle on top of muffins if desired and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
These Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins are best stored covered at room temperature for 3 days. You can also store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days if you prefer a chilled muffin, but make sure they are completely cooled before covering to avoid any condensation build up and a soggy muffin.
To freeze, let cool completely and add to a freezer bag. The Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. My favorite way to reheat is in the toaster oven.
The base of these muffins are just pumpkin, so you can take them in multiple different directions if you leave out the butterscotch. Instead of butterscotch chips, try white or dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or caramel chips.
You could even add walnuts or pecans. Or leave out the add ins all together and go with a cream cheese frosting!
If you don’t have store bought pumpkin pie spice, a quick and easy mixture can come together with the following ingredients:
5 parts ground cinnamon
2 parts ground ginger
2 parts ground nutmeg
1 part all spice
1 part cloves
I usually use a teaspoon to measure each, but scale up or down as you choose. Also, if you’re missing any one of the ingredients, it will be fine without (just not the cinnamon).
I often get asked wether or not to use liners for muffins and cupcakes. The answer we all hate: It depends. It depends on the type of muffin/cupcake as well as what you're doing with them (i.e. if you're serving at a party and people are grabbing from a tray I think liners are a good idea).
For these Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins I actually made half in liners, half directly in a greased muffin tin because I ran out, so it’s totally up to you. But definitely grease the pan if you choose to bake without them.
More Recipes You'll Love
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Recipe
Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Hand Mixer
- Muffin tin
- muffin liners optional
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 can pumpkin puree, 15 oz
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup butterscotch chips, + more for topping
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 350°F and melt your butter in a microwave mixing bowl in 30 second intervals until completely melted.
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients (eggs, olive oil, canned pumpkin, and maple syrup) to the mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to combine.
- Then beat in brown sugar until completely mixed.
- Once wet ingredients are mixed, add dry ingredients to the bowl (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon). Leave out the butterscotch chips for now.
- Mix batter thoroughly. You want to be sure no flour clumps remain and ingredients are completely combined. I really recommend a hand mixer as using a whisk isn't as thorough.
- Once your Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffin batter is smooth throughout, add in butterscotch chips and stir.
- Distribute batter evenly between 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin. The muffin liners will be close to full (these are bakery style muffins and we want them to have large tops). Add additional butterscotch chips on top.
- Bake muffins for 22-27 minutes until they have risen and a tooth pick inserted comes out completely clean.
- Once your Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins are finished baking, melt butterscotch chips and drizzle on top of muffins if desired and enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
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I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Tori says
The butterscotch flavor took these pumpkin muffins to a whole other level! Perfect for fall vibe comfort food.
jennifer says
These are so delicious, we made them for brunch and they are a big HIT . . . my boys are begging me to make again. Thank you for this yummy seasonal recipes!
Jill says
These are amazing! I love butterscotch! Perfectly cozy and sweet.
Ann says
I am HERE for all the pumpkin and fall baking recipes! YUM! These were such a hit. Definitely going to make a second batch!
Madeline says
I think butterscotch chips might be my new favorite "chip"...wow...these muffins were so good. Def getting my fall fix with these this season.
Emily says
My favorite pumpkin muffin recipe so far this season! Many more batches of these muffins will be made! Plus your home smells amazing when these are in the oven.