Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are hands down one of my favorite muffin recipes ever! Packed with spices and filled with a cream cheese filling – these pumpkin muffins are incredibly moist and the perfect fall breakfast!
PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS
We were at soccer practice when a storm rolled in. In Florida, the skies can go from clear to hurricane-like in 5 minutes. And it doesn’t just rain; the heavens open up and cover you in blankets of water.
The storm had its way with us and we were soaked from head to toe when my three boys and I ran to our car…which wouldn’t start. Uggh! My husband was out of town so I called my friend Jenee who sent her husband to my rescue.
Since my car was in the shop all day Saturday getting fixed, I took advantage of being home bound. I plugged in my Leaves air freshener, busted out my Halloween decorations with the boys, and baked these muffins as a thank you to my friends for helping me.
I’ve seen these muffins ALL over the Internet. Supposedly they are a Starbucks knockoff. But I had to know, as The Girl Who Ate Everything, if they were really worth all the hype.
Yes. Yes, they are. I usually like to let the food do the talking, but honestly they are one of the best muffins I’ve ever had – let alone made. Super moist, chock full of spices, and just like a muffin you would get in a bakery.
A cream cheese surprise in the middle mixed with the pumpkin is divine. They do have a couple of steps in making them, but it’s worth it. Eat them warm, cold, or room temperature. I ate WAY too many.
Put a generous dallop of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of the batter. I put mine a little too high on a couple and the cream cheese poked out the top. Oops. |
OTHER PUMPKIN RECIPES
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
- Melt in Your Mouth Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Cake
- Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Pumpkin Earthquake Cake
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are hands down one of my favorite muffin recipes ever! Packed with spices and filled with a cream cheese filling - these pumpkin muffins are incredibly moist and the perfect fall breakfast!
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups pumpkin puree (see Note)
- 1¼ cups vegetable oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
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To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer.
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To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
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To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. I always get inpatient here and mix it together with my hands so that it looks like the texture of wet sand. I know you aren't supposed to do it this way but I'm impatient. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.
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To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. I like them warm, cold, and room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Note: A standard sized can of pumpkin is 15 ounces, just shy of 2 cups (16 ounces). You could open another can if you want and freeze the extra or just use one can which is what I did. The amount is so little I don't think it makes a difference in the final product.
Source: Annie's Eats
I DON’T NEED ALL THE EXTRA DETAILS – JUST THE RECIPE.
I cut the recipe in half, And I used Persimmon instead of Pumpkin. My family l0ved them. This is a new favorite for sure
I’ve been meaning to try something cream cheese stuffed and finish the season’s last can of pumpkin, so I was super excited to find this recipe! These were fun to make and are insanely good! Any word on freezing? I am interested in saving a batch for Christmas morning but wasn’t sure about freezing the topping. Thank you and happy holidays!
Sooooooo delicious! It made my house smell like heaven. The finished product is simply amazing.
Hello, do you think this recipe could be done with a bundt cake instead of individual muffins?
Made these today! So good. I thought they’d be too sweet but there’s a lot of spice in there that makes them delicious. It’s almost on the edge of over spiced but not quite over. I added chopped pecans to the batter – highly recommend. I also used brown sugar instead of white and added pecans to the streusel. Over the top insane. I did the same with the topping and just used my hands haha. I forgot to chill it but it turned out great anyway. I used a jumbo muffin tin and made 12. Cooked for 30 mins and they were perfect. Crispy top and soft soft inside. Will be making these again!!
I love the addition of nuts. Can only be good! Glad you enjoyed them.
Made these just as recipe called for and my husband took them to work for the guys. I actually had one of his co-workers call me to say these were amazing! Now I have great credibility as a baker so thanks for that LOL. I am making again today as a loaf and mini-loaves. Going to add a cream cheese glaze but thought I could just put the log of cream cheese into the middle of the loaf. Do you think that would work? Even as a bundt cake with the log added into the center? Amazing recipe and love the spices. Does taste just like the Starbuck’s muffin–maybe even better.
That would totally work!
I had leftover pumpkin I needed to use and found this recipe. It was such a big hit with my family and the families of 5 neighbors I shared them with that our first batch is almost gone the same day I made them! We’ll definitely be making these again and again. They’re so good that I even felt the need to leave a review which I have never bothered to do in the past.
One note for those making these: it takes way more prep time that listed. Plan for at least an hour for prep and clean up, more if you have kids helping.
Glad you liked them!
After I bake them, where do I store them? Like in the refrigerator or on the counting counter?
I keep them on the counter but you could keep them in the fridge if you want to be sure.
Delicious!
Makes 24
Thank you sooo much – it sounds delicious .I am going to try it. I have one problem . I live in South Africa and we do not have pumpkin pie spice here? Can I make my own spice with a recipe? Can I google for a recipe?
Yes, you can definitely make your own. The substitute for 1 1/2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice in this recipe is: 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon allspice.
Just made these because I felt like something “fall” even though it’s like 91 degrees here in the ever-sunny Florida! These muffins are A-Mazing…..incredibly moist and the spice combination is right on! The perfect autumn flavors in each bite. I added 1/4 cup oats to the topping mixture and didn’t do the cream cheese log, just put the bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes while putting the other ingredients together and used my small cookie scoop to add a bit onto each muffin. Worked perfectly. This is being saved in my “favorites” recipe file. Oh, and this is probably the 2nd review I’ve ever left on a website, it’s not something I usually do, but these are so good I felt compelled to let you know! Thanks for a great “go-to” pumpkin recipe!!
Thank you! I feel honored. I just recently moved from Florida so I get it. If you wait for fall weather it will never happen.
My girlfriend loves this from Whole Foods and I decided for her 31st birthday. She says they taste just like them. Proud of myself thank you so much. Recipe was easy to follow and everything turned out great!!
So happy to hear that.
Those muffins are really good but the time it takes to make them is WAY longer than disclosed. I know my way around the kitchen and this took me 2 1/2 hours and I still have 1/3 of the batter, filling & topping to bake tomorrow. It took me at least another 1/2 hour to clean up the kitchen but I guess recipes never include that time. I’m exhausted & looking forward to a muffin and coffee in the morning after a good nights sleep.
Sorry Kathy. Hope it was worth it!
They are delish.
Thank you!
My daughter and I were torn between making these cream cheese pumpkins muffins or your chocolate chip pumpkin ones. We compromised and did the chocolate chips with cream cheese filling!!! OMG!! So good, so moist. Made them in November and making them again. If it tastes good why not make them all year when you start craving something yummy.
I was super nervous to make these for thanksgiving, but they turned out wonderfully! It’s a nice change from typical pie. Used a little less oil in the batter (3/4 cup instead of the 1 and 1/4) and modified the filling mixture with whipped cream cheese in a bowl taking less time in the freezer. Also, plastic wrap is my sworn enemy. I’m not really a pumpkin person, but these are so delicious.
Glad you liked them!
Do you think these would freeze ok?
Yes, they freeze great!
I really like this recipe but for some reason my cream cheese wasn’t creamy inside the muffin like pictured, but was more like a lump of sweet cream cheese. Just wondering if anyone else had that issue. It would be great if it integrated more inside the muffin. I am not sure what I did wrong? Thoughts?
At first I quicked zapped it in the microwave to soften it, which made mixing easier. Otherwise whipped cream cheese definitely helped too!
It says 1 and 1/4 cups oil, don’t you mean use 1/4 cup oil?
Nope. It’s 1 cup plus 1/4 cup oil!
I used 1 cup of applesauce and 1/4 cup oil, and of course, still amazing!
A co-worker who is a self-proclaimed hater of all things pumpkin, gobbled these up when I made them a few weeks ago. I am making them again as we speak to take to work tomorrow!!! I also loved them but my co-worker is the real testament to how delicious they are! 🤤
They are a labor of love but so good!
I made these for my Tuesday AM Bible study. What a hit. I did by-pass the freezing cream cheese step, just added a small scoop. It worked out great. The strussel was a perfect topping.
So glad your bible study loved them!
These muffins are delightful!
I reduced the amount of pumpkin pie spice to 2 tsp because I was afraid it might get too overspiced with the redundant spices. They tasted fantastic, but could probably handle the original amount in the recipe.
I didn’t roll the cream cheese into a log. Instead I put it in a bowl, then freezer, then scooped it out with a melon baller. My tip, super easy to use a 1.5 inch cookie scoop. Use a level scoop to fill both bottom and top portions.
Great tip. I think that works just as great!
I’m in love! These muffins are amazing. I added a little bit of quick oats and ground flax seeds to the topping. This recipe made 12 “giant” sized muffins (bake @425° for 5 min, then 375° for 25min) No need to look any further for a great pumpkin muffin recipe, this is it!
Aww thank ou!
these are the most delicious muffins i’ve ever tasted . thank you for this recipe !!! my family loves it !! definitely toddler approved 😁
I agree. They are dreamy!
These are absolutely amazing. I have been making for years and wouldn’t change a thing
I agree! Thank you!
We were looking for a very specific pumpkin cream cheese muffin recipe and this was the most incredible one! So so yummy and we were able to share with a few friends who loved them so much they asked for the recipe! 😋
Ooh! So happy to hear that.
What a great recipe!! I used fresh made pumpkin puree from a pie pumpkin and it turned out fabulous. I also, unintentionally, used the entire puree from one pie pumpkin instead of measuring out 2 cups (distracted by a toddler) but they still came out delicious. A treat the whole family loves!
I bet fresh pumpkin was great!
Loved them. When you prepare ahead of time
It’s 1 2 3
Didn’t make the crumb toppingp just powdered sugar thanks
Making again today
Awesome!