Butter Pecan Muffins
These easy butter pecan muffins are tender and buttery with plenty of crunchy pecans, brown sugar and a hint of warm spice. Made with buttermilk for a tender crumb, they’re an old-fashioned homemade muffin with a crunchy brown sugar topping that’s perfect with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
When I bake something to share with family and friends it makes my heart full. A freshly baked apple pie can show a person they are special, a batch of cookies can acknowledge a job well done, or a batch of pecan muffins can cheer a person who is going through a challenging time or just needs a bit of cheering up!
My entire family loves these butter pecan muffins, and the recipe continues to be made on repeat both for snacks at home and given to friends.
Why These Muffins Are So Good
- Buttermilk – creates a tender crumb and a sublet tanginess
- Brown Sugar – gives the muffins their delicious caramel like flavour
- Pecans – provides a nutty flavour throughout the muffins and a perfect crunch to the crumble topping
- Freezable – easy to freeze and pull out one or two at a time when the craving for a snack hits
Ingredients for Butter Pecan Muffins
- baking powder, baking soda & salt
- all purpose flour
- pumpkin pie spice (or substitute with cinnamon)
- brown sugar
- pecans
- egg
- buttermilk or soured milk (see recipe notes)
- butter
Let’s Bake Some Muffins!
Be sure to see the full PRINTABLE recipe card below
Just a few simple steps, and no mixer required.
- combine dry ingredients, flour, leaveners, salt, spice and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl
- in 2nd mixing bowl whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter
- add wet ingredients to dry and stir once or twice; add pecan pieces and stir just until combined and no traces of flour remain
- divide batter between muffin tins, filling almost to the top and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes
Can I substitute Walnuts for Pecans?
While you could certainly substitute walnuts for pecans, that would change the flavour of the muffins. They would still be buttery, with a caramel like flavour and a tender crumb.
How to Store and Freeze Pecan Muffins
It’s important to cool muffins completely before storing.
Muffins are best stored in an airtight container lined with paper towel for up to 3 days. The paper towel helps prevent the dreaded sticky muffins.
Freeze tightly wrapped (without a paper towel) for up to 2 months for best flavour. I like to wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer bag or an airtight freezer container. This allows me to pull out and defrost one or two at a time. Defrost at room temperature.
Whether you are craving a sweet treat yourself and looking for something to bake and share with a friend, why not get into the kitchen and bake up a batch of these butter pecan muffins today!
Butter Pecan Muffins
Equipment
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 whisk
- 1 wood spoon
- 1 12 tin muffin pan
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar + extra for sprinkling
- 1 cup chopped pecans + 12 whole pecan half
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray 12 muffin tins with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spice and brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl combine egg, buttermilk and melted butter beating well with a whisk.
- Add wet ingredients to flour mixture, stir slightly, add pecan pieces and continue to stir gently just until incorporated and no traces of flour remain.
- Spoon into 12 muffin tins filling each 3/4 full, sprinkle each generously with brown sugar, and top with a pecan half. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for a few minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.
Enjoy warm with fresh butter
Notes
Maureen – Thanks for sharing this recipe…it looks so delicious yet easy to make. I may have to take a crack at these. My stepdad is the baker in the family and pies are his specialty. Every year, rather than getting a birthday cake, I dig up a recipe of a pie I would like him to make for my birthday. From coconut cream made from scratch, to an apple cheesecake, and even low carb…he hasn’t failed me yet and the pie disappears in one sitting. And honestly, I think he looks forward to the challenge every year because he goes through so much care to bake these for me. I definitely feel the love!
Pie is my downfall!! I don’t eat a lot of my own baking, but when it comes to pies…back off people, I get first dibs!! It is awesome that you have your stepdad to bake for you. I wish I could get Tim to bake, but so far a no-go!
I’m in….prayers for your sister!
I think i’ve gained a kilo just by drooling over all these photos. LOL!
These look simply yummy. I just added buttermilk to my shopping list, so I can give them a try.
I’m thinking my son would like these. I’ll have to have some handy next time he comes home on leave – he always eats like a ravenous teenager (don’t they feed those guys in the Army?).
Wow! Those look amazing! I cook/bake for our set-up crew at church and these will be on the next rotation!
Those butter pecan muffins sound delish! Of course, cookies sound good too. Great blog … I will be printing out that recipe for my personal cookbook.
These look absolutely delicious… I’m going to get some pecans from Costco too, the price is definitely appealing!
I would make these and offer them to my coworkers during our coffee break!
I was shocked when I saw the price of the pecans! They alone made it worth the trip!
This looked amazing but didn’t turn out for me at all! The batter was so thick, I couldn’t even finish mixing it without adding more buttermilk. I had to add about an extra 1/2 cup before I could get them mixed. Then they baked up beautifully but had almost no taste and were so heavy they felt like they had stones in them 🙁 I tried again thinking it had to be a mistake I had made but same result…I’m so sad!
Oh Jen, I am so sorry it didn’t work for you. I will make them again myself to see what results, and I will let you know if I had to make any changes.
I will be making these muffins today. I moved my youngest back to college for grad school and my oldest moved out into the world on her own!! This mamma is sad but knows they are where they are suppose to be
I hope you love them and they can lift your spirits! Speaking from experience, when kids fly the nest it sure is a mix of emotions!