Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Crumb Topping

Preheat oven to 350ºF or 180ºC. Line muffin pans with liners or spray with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. (Feel free to use 2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice if you like, instead of mixing cinnamon, mace, all-spice and nutmeg.)

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or another big mixing bowl), beat butter and sugar until mixed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well on medium speed after each addition, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and pumpkin puree and mix to combine. You might have to scrape the sides of bowl a few times. A rubber or silicone spatula comes in handy for this. Slowly add flour mixture while mixer is at lowest speed. Beat until just combined and do not over-mix.

To make the crumb topping, in a separate bowl, add all the crumb topping ingredients and mash together with a fork until thoroughly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measure, divide muffin batter among muffin pans, filling each muffin about ¾ full. Once all the batter has been used, top each muffin with the crumb topping. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.