Pumpkin Discard Muffins with Maple Icing
My favorite Pumpkin Muffins Recipe! Sourdough discard muffins recipes create great texture and rich flavor! If you don’t have any sourdough discard, see my notes for an easy ingredient swap! These pumpkin muffins have the perfect mixture of delicious Fall spices and are topped with Maple Icing – the perfect compliment for pumpkin flavor!
These muffins are one of my favorite breakfast items for a crisp Fall morning! I’m a sucker for a good pumpkin/pecan anything! Level up with my amazing maple icing for an even better Fall foodie experience!
This discard recipe is just one of many I love to use with my sourdough discard. Try my Banana Nut Sourdough Muffins too! If you aren’t a sourdough baker and don’t have a well-maintained starter, you can replace the discard with nonfat Greek yogurt. It will give the muffins a great flavor and fluffiness, just like the discard does!
Using Sourdough Discard
If you’re not familiar with what discard is, let me give you a brief overview of this magical mixture my friend. Sourdough Starter is made simply by mixing flour and water together and allowing it to ferment. It requires fresh flour and water to replace most of the mixture on a regular schedule – this keeps the good bacteria in and allows it to become a leavening agent in baked goods. Discard is the part of the ripe starter that usually gets tossed out when you feed it with fresh flour and water.
If you have or are maintaining a starter, then you know it can feel pretty wasteful every time you feed it and throw out most of that mixture. This is why I love a good discard recipe – it helps me to make the most of my hard work! If you are wanting to create a starter for baking, go HERE for my 7-day guide on How to Create a Sourdough Starter from Scratch. Use it to make amazing Sourdough Bread!!
- If you don’t have a sourdough starter, see my recipe notes for an easy ingredient swap!
Ingredients
- Sourdough discard gives this recipe fluffiness and a richer flavor. (Swapping out for nonfat Greek yogurt will give you similar results)
- Pumpkin puree not only gives these muffins a great pumpkin flavor, but it adds moisture to the recipe. Make sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling!
- Creaming together the butter and sugars create an emulsification – the butter and sugars bond together and will create a great rise in the oven when baked!
- Eggs give the muffin structure.
- Fall Spices like nutmeg, cloves, allspice and cinnamon are the classic combination of Fall flavors! I like to use these spices to give that distinct pumpkin pie flavoring! I use this same combination of spices in my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread!
- Chopped Pecans are one of my favorite textures and flavors to compliment pumpkin flavors!
- Maple Icing enhances those pumpkin flavors! I love a thicker icing – it sets up nicely on the tops and doesn’t get lost soaking into the muffin and it gives a more concentrated flavor.
Storing the Muffins
Since they have an icing on top, store them uncovered to avoid the icing from soaking into the muffins. I like to keep mine on my favorite cake stand, displaying to anyone that walks into my kitchen that it’s Fall Baking Season! You can keep them at room temperature for up to two days. For a longer storage period, place the un-iced muffins in a zip top freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to use, remove the muffins from the freezer a few hours before you want to eat them and let them thaw out on the counter. Glaze them just before serving.
- If you are like me and love all things pumpkin, you’re going to LOVE these muffins! Make them for the perfect Fall breakfast! Be sure to post your baking creation and tag me on Instagram (@thatbreadlady). Enjoy these perfectly spiced and flavored muffins!
More recipes to try…
Pumpkin Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
Need extra help with your bread game?
Check out my Baking Academy – my monthly membership that gives you access to ALL of my virtual, pre-recorded baking classes!! Learn the techniques that will give you amazing results as I show you how to make challenging recipes easier, from start to finish! Go HERE to learn more!!
Pumpkin Discard Muffins with Maple Icing
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup sourdough starter ripe or discard
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup finely chopped pecans
Maple Icing:
- 1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk 2% or whole milk, as needed for desired consistency
Instructions
- Preaheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare muffin tins with liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- To the bowl of an electric mixer, add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream together on low speed for 2 minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until fully incorporated. Stop and scrape the sides of the mixer bowl as needed.
- Add the starter discard and pumpkin puree. Mix until fully incorporated.
- While the mixer is on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Avoid over-mixing.
- Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans (reserve the rest for sprinkling on top of the muffins).
- Scoop the muffin batter into each prepared muffin liner, filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chopped pecans on top of the muffins.
- Bake muffins for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs.
- Let muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
- Once muffins have cooled, prepare the maple icing. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, maple extract, maple syrup and milk. Add more milk or confectioner’s sugar, to get just the right consistency – a thicker icing will set better instead of soaking into the muffin.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper underneath the wire cooling rack to catch the icing.
- Drizzle icing over cooled muffins. Allow the icing to set for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Substitute the discard: You can replace the 1/2 cup sourdough discard with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt. It’s always great for achieving a fluffy crumb texture!
- Store muffins: Store uncovered to avoid the icing from soaking into the muffins. Store at room temperature for up to two days. For longer storage, place un-iced muffins in a zip top freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to use, remove the muffins from the freezer a few hours before you want to eat them and let them thaw out on the counter. Glaze just before serving.
- Not a nut fan? Leave them out and bake as directed.
