Maple Pecan Sourdough Muffins

The insides of a maple pecan sourdough muffin with crumb topping and maple glaze.

5 from 5 votes

Maple Pecan Sourdough Muffins

Nutty and delicious, these maple pecan sourdough muffins have the perfect texture and flavor. A soft sourdough discard muffin studded with pecans, topped with a crumb topping and a maple glaze, these are the perfect muffin for a quick morning breakfast or to bring to brunch.

Prep Time20

Cook Time22

Total Time42

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: muffins

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

Ingredients

Maple Pecan Sourdough Muffins

75 grams unsalted butter about 5 Tablespoons, melted
35 grams vegetable oil about 2 Tablespoons
120 grams sourdough discard about 1/2 cup, see recipe notes
85 grams buttermilk shaken
50 grams pure maple syrup about 2.5 Tablespoons
1 large egg about 50 grams
4 grams vanilla extract about 1 teaspoon
4 grams maple extract about 1 teaspoon
120 grams granulated sugar scant 2/3 cup
200 grams all purpose flour about 1 2/3 cup
15 grams cornstarch about 1.5 Tablespoons
10 grams baking powder about 2 teaspoons
10 grams salt about 1.5 teaspoons
120 grams chopped pecans about 1 cup, see recipe notes

Pecan Crumb Topping

30 grams unsalted butter about 2 Tablespoons, melted
50 grams brown sugar about 1/4 cup
40 grams all-purpose flour about 1/3 cup
30 grams chopped pecans about 1/4 cup
pinch of salt

Maple Glaze

55 grams unsalted butter about 4 Tablespoons, melted
60 grams powdered sugar about 1/2 cup
40 grams pure maple syrup about 2 Tablespoons
2 grams maple extract about 1/2 teaspoon
pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners or cut pieces of parchment paper to the size of the muffin wells and use as liners. If you choose not to use liners, spray muffin wells with cooking or baking spray to coat so they don't stick.
Melt unsalted butter in a large liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Add vegetable oil and sourdough discard. Whisk together. Add buttermilk, maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract and maple extract. Mix in granulated sugar and whisk together to combine.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Pour in the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir gently until almost combined. Add in the chopped pecans and stir again until moistened - a few flour streaks are okay!
Crumb Topping: Mix together melted butter, brown sugar, flour, pecans and a pinch of salt until a crumbly topping forms.
Scoop muffin batter into the muffin tins, filling the tins about 3/4 of the way full. Top each muffin with pecan crumble topping. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425ºF. Then decrease the oven temperature to 350ºF and continue baking for about 15-18 minutes until baked all the way through. The center of the muffins should spring back just a bit and a toothpick should come out clean with just a few crumbs when stuck into the center of a baked muffin.
While the muffins are baking, whisk together the maple glaze. Whisk melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract and salt. Put glaze into a piping bag and set aside. Once muffins have cooled slightly, drizzle with maple glaze and enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough Discard: In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is no more than a day or two old. You can use fresh, bubbly sourdough starter if you want. If you don’t mind a more pronounced sourdough flavor, you can use refrigerated discard from up to a week or two old.

Chopped Pecans: Give the pecans a few pulses in the blender until you get your desired consistency. I like them fairly well chopped for texture in the topping and in the muffin.

Nutrition