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Pecan Spice Muffins

These flavorful Pecan Spice Muffins combine a blend of spices and crunchy pecans inside a soft, moist muffin. A lovely treat for breakfast or a snack!

overhead view of Pecan Spice Muffins on a wire cooling rack

Spiced Pecan Muffins

These lovely Pecan Spice Muffins get their wonderful flavor from a blend of fall spices along with some crunchy pecans.

While I’m happy to enjoy one of these delightful muffins any day of the year, they are especially welcomed in the fall and winter. They’re a special treat for breakfast or brunch on a cool, crisp day. If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, they’ll pair well with your favorite cup. Or just grab one for a sweet snack!

These muffins are just the kind of baked treat that I have a hard time sharing. They’re just so good! If you can bear to part with them, a batch of these muffins is wonderful for sharing with family and friends. They make a great homemade gift! Luckily, they’re easy to make so you can always whip up another batch to keep all to yourself.

spiced pecan muffins on a wire rack

What You’ll Need

These Pecan Spice Muffins are made with basic baking ingredients plus pecans and a blend of spices.

  • All-purpose flour: Use your favorite all-purpose flour. I prefer King Arthur.
  • Sugar: For flavor and texture.
  • Brown Sugar: Supplementing the regular sugar with a bit of brown sugar adds flavor and also helps make these muffins soft.
  • Baking powder and baking soda: To help the muffins rise as they bake.
  • Spices: I use a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Feel free to use a different blend or a pre-made spice blend if you like. If you prefer a stronger spice flavor, you can increase the amount of spice in the recipe.
  • Salt: For flavor.
  • Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream works best to make these muffins tender and moist.
  • Unsalted butter: I like the flavor that butter adds to these muffins. I’ve not made these using oil, but you should be able to substitute 1:1 or with slightly less oil than the amount of butter in the recipe.
  • Milk: For texture and flavor.
  • Eggs: For structure.
  • Vanilla extract: For flavor. You can substitute another extract (like almond extract) if you like.
  • Pecans: Roughly chop the pecans for extra crunch, or finely chop for a smoother texture. Save a few for sprinkling on top of the muffins to get the look of the muffins in these photos. Another type of nut should substitute well.
  • Turbinado sugar (optional): This coarse sugar adds a little sparkle and an extra bit of sweetness to the muffins. Another coarse sugar will also work, but I like the color of turbinado sugar for these muffins.

How to Make Pecan Spice Muffins

Despite the seemingly long ingredient list, these Pecan Spice Muffins mix quickly and easily using a couple of mixing bowls, a mixing spoon, and a 12-cup muffin pan (or two 6-cup muffin pans). This recipe follows the muffin method of mixing.

Preheat the oven and prepare the pan. Heat the oven to 400°F. The high temperature will help give that signature dome on top of the muffins. Grease 12 cups of a standard muffin pan. Alternatively, line the muffin cups with paper liners. Unlined pans will yield crisper edges, while lined pans will result in softer edges.

Mix the dry ingredients and the sugar. Combine the flour, both sugars, and the spices. I like to use a whisk to help ensure the ingredients are mixed well. Make a well in the center for adding the mixture from the next step.

Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the cooled butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add that mixture to the well in the flour mixture. Stir just until combined or a few streaks of flour remain.

Stir in the pecans. Gently stir in the pecans, using just a few turns with a mixing spoon.

Transfer the batter to the pan. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. If you have a 3-tablespoon scoop, it works very well to divide the batter quickly and evenly. Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a pinch of turbinado sugar and some of the reserved pecans.

Bake the muffins. The muffins should be baked thoroughly in 12-16 minutes. The edges should be browned, and a pick inserted into the center should come out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then, you should be able to remove the muffins from the pan easily to continue cooling on a wire rack.

overhead view of Pecan Spice Muffins cooling on a wire rack

Tips for Success

  • Measure accurately. Use a kitchen scale to measure by weight when possible. Otherwise, use the spoon and sweep method for dry ingredients and sugar.
  • Use a light-colored metal muffin pan. Dark pans tend to over-bake the outside edges while leaving the inside under-baked. Dark muffin pans can also cause the muffins to rise too quickly and then fall.
  • Grease or line the muffin cups. This is a preference, and either way is perfectly fine. Remember that liners create softer edges.
  • Don’t over-mix the batter. Mix just until combined or a few streaks of flour remain. Too much mixing can lead to tough, dense muffins.
  • Use a scoop to portion the batter. It will make quick, accurate work of dividing the batter.
  • Want to make this recipe as a loaf? See How to Convert Muffins to Bread.

How to Store Leftovers

Tightly sealed, these Pecan Spice Muffins should keep at room temperature for about 3 days. For a few more days’ storage, they can be refrigerated. Just make sure they’re well-sealed so they don’t become dry.

The muffins are best eaten at room temperature or warmed in the microwave or a low-temperature oven.

How to Freeze Muffins

Once the muffins have completely cooled, place them in a single layer in the freezer. You can place them on a baking sheet or just use the muffin pan. Once they’re frozen (about 30 minutes), transfer them to a freezer bag, squeezing out any excess air. Be sure to label the packaging with the name of the muffins and date they were baked.

Thaw frozen muffins overnight in the refrigerator or for a few hours at room temperature. You can also heat frozen muffins in the microwave if you want to skip the thawing time.

Frozen muffins will keep 2-3 months.

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Pecan Spice Muffins

Yield 12 standard-size muffins
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes

Crunchy pecans and a blend of spices combine to make these fantastic Pecan Spice Muffins!

overhead view of Pecan Spice Muffins cooling on a wire rack

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3/4 cup (170g) sour cream
  • 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (120g) chopped pecans
  • turbinado sugar, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or line with paper liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Make a well in the center.
  3. In a separate bowl, stir together the sour cream, butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to the well in the flour mixture, and stir just until combined. Stir in the pecans. If you like, save some pecans to top off the muffins.
  4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, using about 3 tablespoons of batter to fill each about 2/3 full. Sprinkle a pinch of turbinado sugar and a few chopped pecans on top of each muffin.
  5. Bake 12 to 16 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pan to a rack to continue cooling.

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    16 Comments on “Pecan Spice Muffins”

  1. Jennifer, these little cuties look super moist and yummy! Can’t wait to try them out… ahhh, the one thing I can dig about fall is the baking. Pumpkins, pecans, spices, etc. make fall that much sweeter 🙂

  2. Haha SAME! I know a recipe is REALLY good when I don’t want to share! Which I’m pretty sure I would experience with these…all those fall spices. So good!

  3. These little cute muffins looks yummy and delicious.You can say just mouth watering sure try them at some occasion.

    Good luck and happy baking

  4. Love spice muffins. Not so sure it’s easy to get pecans here though? (I live in Bangkok), so may have to substitute walnuts, which I think will work as well. Must say I do sometimes miss fall in the US, though 🙂

    Nice photos too, btw.

  5. Yes, these look WONDERFUL! Just the kind of thing I’ve been wanting to bake for fall. 🙂 Warm and spicy and nutty, and perfect first thing in the morning with my cup of coffee. 🙂 Can’t wait to make!

  6. These are perfect! I am having a work party for the first day of fall … I can’t wait to bake these and bring them in!

  7. oh yes I def. don’t think I’d be able to share these either!

  8. What a great recipe! I’m definitely adding this one to the regular rotation.

  9. This muffin recipe looks tasty. Right now I’m out of sour cream. Do you think plain Greek yogurt would work okay as a substitute?

  10. I just made these for supper to accompany chef salads. My goodness, but they are fantastic! And easy to make, as well. I did make them with walnuts, but I want to try them with the pecans. This recipe is going in my “Favorites” file. Thank you so much for sharing it!

  11. Can this recipe be made into a loaf and if yes a 9x 5 or 8×4?

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