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These maple walnut muffins are the best muffins to make for fall & winter. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Made with brown sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla and toasted walnuts. With a toasted nut streusel topping and drizzled with a sweet maple glaze for an extra-decadent breakfast recipe.
For other tasty muffin recipes to make this fall, try these banana and pear muffins, these banana almond flour muffins, these blueberry sour cream muffins, or these banana ricotta muffins.
Recipe Highlights
- These muffins are packed with fall flavor, making them the perfect breakfast recipe for a holiday brunch.
- The toasted walnut streusel topping with brown sugar, cinnamon and hazelnut forms a delicious, crunchy muffin top.
- These muffins are finished off with a sweet, maple glaze that is drizzled on top.
Ingredients
- Walnuts: Walnuts are toasted in the oven before being baked into these muffins, giving them extra flavor and crispiness. If you don’t like walnuts, you can substitute them with pecans.
- Maple Syrup: Real, authentic maple syrup gives the best maple flavor. Don’t use artificial pancake syrup. Maple syrup is used for both the muffin batter, as well as in the maple glaze.
- Spices: The combination of cinnamon and nutmeg complements the other fall flavors in these muffins well.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour instead.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps these muffins rise. You can’t substitute baking powder with baking soda.
- Butter: Butter is used in the muffin batter to add richness and moisture. You can substitute this with a vegan butter or a plant-based margarine.
- Sugar: A combination of brown sugar, granulated sugar and icing sugar is used in this recipe. Brown sugar is used for the muffin base. Brown sugar and granulated sugar is used to make the streusel topping. Icing sugar, also called powdered sugar, is used to make the maple glaze.
- Milk: Use any type of milk. Regular (2%), or whole milk (3.25%) will both work. You can also use a dairy-free milk such as oat milk or almond milk instead.
- Eggs: Eggs act as the binding agent in these muffins. They hold them together so they don’t fall apart.
- Maple, Vanilla & Hazelnut Extract: The combination of maple extract, vanilla extract and hazelnut extract give these muffins their delicious, rich, fall flavor. Maple and vanilla extract are generally easy to find in the baking aisle of your local grocery store. Hazelnut extract may be easier to order online. If you can’t find hazelnut extract, you can replace it with either maple extract or vanilla extract.
- Salt: A small amount of salt brings out the other flavors in the muffins.
Equipment
- A set of mixing bowls to make the muffin batter in.
- A rubber spatula to mix the ingredients together.
- Muffin liners to line the muffin tin.
- A muffin tin to bake the muffins in.
Instructions
Step 1: Toast the walnuts for 7 to 8 minutes in the oven at 400F, until they are golden brown.
Step 2: Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.
Step 3: Beat the brown sugar and butter together.
Step 4: Beat in the eggs, maple syrup, milk, maple extract and vanilla extract together.
Step 5: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing only until combined.
Step 6: Fold in the toasted walnuts.
Step 7: Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners.
Step 8: Make the streusel topping by mixing the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, butter, toasted walnuts, cinnamon and hazelnut extract together.
Step 9: Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over each muffin.
Step 10: Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 400F, then decrease the temperature to 375F and continue to bake for another 16 to 17 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them fully cool to room temperature.
Step 11: Make the maple glaze by mixing together the icing sugar, milk, maple syrup, and maple extract until smooth.
Step 12: Drizzle the maple glaze over the muffin tops. Let it sit for a few minutes to solidify.
Storage
- At room temperature: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- In the fridge: Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- In the freezer: Store muffins in a Ziploc bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. For best results, store these muffins without the maple glaze. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight. Then add the glaze before serving them.
Expert Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. When adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix only until just combined.
- Don’t open the oven door while the muffins are baking, especially while the muffins are rising. Opening the oven door will allow heat to escape, preventing the muffins from rising as effectively.
- Fill the muffin liners almost all the way full. Add the batter so that the liners are almost, but not completely filled. This will result in large, domed muffin tops.
- Wait until the muffins have fully cooled before adding the glaze. If you drizzle the maple glaze on the muffins while they are still warm, the glaze will melt and drip off the muffins.
FAQ
Baking the muffins at a higher temperature for the first 5 minutes helps the muffins rise, forming giant muffin tops.
The muffins are done baking when the tops are golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs on it.
📖 Recipe
Maple Walnut Muffins
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These maple walnut muffins are the best muffins to make for fall & winter. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Made with brown sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla and toasted walnuts. With a toasted nut streusel topping and drizzled with a sweet maple glaze for an extra-decadent breakfast recipe.
Ingredients
- Toasted Walnuts:
- 1 ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- Maple Walnut Muffins:
- 2 ½ cups (290g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup (170g) butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 tsp maple extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Streusel Topping:
- 10 tbsp (75g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50g) brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp (25g) granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp (71g) butter, melted
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
- ¼ tsp hazelnut extract
- Maple Glaze:
- ½ cup (65g) icing sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp milk
- ½ tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp maple extract
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the walnuts out on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes until golden brown and fragrant. Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
- Make the muffin batter. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter together. Then, beat in the eggs, maple syrup, milk, maple extract and vanilla extract together until well combined.
- In two parts, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Mix only until combined. Fold in 1 cup of the toasted walnuts.
- Line a 12 muffin tin with muffin liners. Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin liners.
- Make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, butter, toasted walnuts, cinnamon and hazelnut extract together. The mixture should be clumpy. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly on top of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins. Bake the muffins at 400F for 5 minutes. Then, decrease the oven temperature to 375F without opening the door. Continue to bake for another 16 to 17 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Make the maple glaze. While the muffins are baking, mix together the icing sugar, milk, maple syrup and maple extract until smooth. Once the muffins are done baking, let them cool completely to room temperature. Then, drizzle the maple glaze over top of each muffin. Let sit for a few minutes to solidify.
Notes
- Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 495
- Sugar: 36.9g
- Sodium: 410mg
- Fat: 25.3g
- Saturated Fat: 11.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 63.1g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 6.5g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
Abby Em
Just made these for the first time and they were delicious!! Absolutely love the fall flavors - thanks for the recipe!!
Pat Hahn
These were delicious! I will be making again!
Dina and Bruce
This is a foodies dream. We think this is exactly what the Fall weather needed over at our house!
Sara Welch
Enjoyed these for breakfast this morning and started my day off right! Was light, fluffy and delicious; easily, a new favorite recipe!
Kim
Absolutely in love with these Maple Walnut Muffins! The crispy exterior, soft interior, and that divine maple glaze make these muffins irresistible. The cinnamon and toasted walnut combo is perfection. Simply put, a must-try delight!
Christine
I made these for my family on the first of October. My sone said they were a perfect fall breakfast! Geat maple flavor! I used gluten-free flour and I forgot to add the maple syrup so I had to add it at the end...I was wondering why my dough was so dry so I checked the recipe and sure enough....I forgot something! I think the dough was stil quite stiff. I think next time I may only add 2 cups of flour instead of 2 1/2. Thank you! Delicious.
Ali
So glad these muffins worked out well for you Christine! The dough being drier could be related to using gluten-free flour or it could be if you used measuring cups to measure the flour instead of a scale — if you use measuring cups, I agree 2 cups is probably perfect! Thank you for the feedback 🙂