These cute little bear-shaped pumpkin muffins are almost too cute to eat. But if you try one, it’ll be gobbled up without hesitation because they’re so moist, fluffy and delicious! The cinnamon sugar coating gives them the perfect fall flavor and a subtle crunch. I used cream cheese icing to form the snouts and melted chocolate for the eyes and noses. You can also use melted chocolate chips or candy melts to decorate their faces if you prefer. I used a bear-shaped mini muffin pan, which is also called a Madeleine pan or a financier pan. To find a bear mini muffin pan, click here. A standard mini muffin pan will also work, but the muffins won’t be bear-shaped. If you end up using a standard mini muffin pan, you can add round, flat candies to form the ears.
To watch the TikTok video of Mini Pumpkin Bear Muffins being made, click here.
To watch the Instagram video of Mini Pumpkin Bear Muffins being made, click here.
Mini Pumpkin Bear Muffins
Ingredients
Mini Pumpkin Bear Muffins
- 1 cup (4 1/2 oz or 128g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg preferably freshly ground
- ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (1 3/4 oz or 52ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup (6 oz or 170g) pure pumpkin purée not pie filling
Cinnamon Sugar
- ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (2 oz or 57g) melted butter
Bear Faces
- 1 teaspoon butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon cream cheese, softened
- â…“ cup (1 3/8 oz or 38g) powdered sugar, sifted
- â…› cup melted chocolate, chocolate chips or candy melts
- 1/2-1 ½ teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
Mini Pumpkin Bear Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Grease and flour a bear-shaped mini muffin pan. (This recipe also works in a mini muffin pan but the muffins won't be bear shaped.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil and egg until smooth and well combined. Mix in the pumpkin purée until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined.
- Scoop or pipe the batter into the muffin pan, filling the cups 2/3 full (about 3/4 oz or 21g in each). Use a small offset spatula to smooth the top of the batter, making sure to get batter into the ears.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 9-11 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove them from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Clean the pan and repeat with the remaining batter.
Cinnamon Sugar
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Brush the warm muffins with with melted butter using a small pastry brush. Coat them with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bear Faces
- In a small bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of milk until smooth. Add more milk as needed.
- Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip or snip off the end of the piping bag making a 1/4-inch wide opening. Pipe a small blob of icing onto each bear's face to form the snouts.
- Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or snip off the end of the piping bag making a 1/16-inch wide opening. Pipe dots of chocolate onto the snouts to make the noses. Pipe dots or curved lines to make the eyes. Alternately you can apply the melted chocolate dots with the tip of a toothpick
