These 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 are incredibly moist! 
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. |
 |
For the topping, you are supposed to cut in the butter with a pastry blender. I usually start doing it that way then end up mixing it with my hands. Just make sure you pop it back in the fridge if you use your hands because it’s supposed to be cold. |
If you love these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, you’ll love these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
- 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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. I like them warm, cold, and room temperature.
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'm Christy Denney, The Girl Who Ate Everything. I can't be left alone with a warm cinnamon roll or chocolate chip cookie. 
Off hand, would you say that 2 cups is less then or more than a standard sized can of pumpkin? I’m going to the store today, and want to be sure I get enough pumpkin to make two batches; one for a church potluck tonight, and one batch to keep at home. These sounds wonderful!
These look wonderful, I love anything with a cream cheese filling!
http://chicgeekery.blogspot.com/
yummy! I just printed this out and plan on making them today!!
@Renna,
Yes, one can of pumpkin is usually 15 ounces, one ounce shy of two cups. If you are really a stickler you could open another can to make a full 2 cups but honestly the difference is so little I don’t think it matters. I just used one can (15 ounces) and mine turned out great. Good luck!
I’ve been meaning to make pumpkin muffins, but I haven’t been able to decide between bread and muffins! But there’s no doubt in my mind that I want cream cheese inside either of them also with a crumbly topping. Your muffins are so pretty it might sway the decision.
I have seriously been craving pumpkin like crazy this year! I made pumpkin sheet cake to take to a friend over the weekend and it was heavenly! These muffins will have to be added to my long list of pumpkin recipes I *have to* make!
Am so glad October is here, now I can eat all my pumpkin recipes and i know which one I’ll start with 🙂 The muffins look really delicious. Great photos.
Yummy. When you say a can of pumpkin – you are talking just the plain pumpkin – not the one that is already seasoned for a pumpkin pie, right? I just know I’ve grabbed the wrong stuff before when I needed pumpkin pie filling so I always want to be sure now!
Those look incredible!!
Just pinned this one Christy. These look scary good! Thanks (or maybe not) for sharing. lol
~ Catie
holy cow yuuummm
I baked a batch of these yesterday and halved the recipe and these were amazing!!!!
What a delicious muffin! Yum.
What a wonderful table, they look absolutely delicious. Congratulations.
I know you are a super busy mom/blogger/superstar but I’m hoping you can make a little time for me!
I am trying to start a new blog/project/initiative over a http://www.projectbtc.wordpress.com and if you could take a couple minutes to check it out, and maybe participate in this first week, then it could really help jumpstart this thing!
I’ve been a loyal blog reader of yours for quite some time, and I’d love for you to share with my readers how YOU are being the change you want to see in the world.
Thank you so much for you time reading this email, and if you can’t participate, I completely understand!
Blair Lieber
Making these is definitely on my to-do list
Oh Man! I don’t think I will be able to resist eating the whole batch! This is going on my list to make when I’m having people over for brunch.
The perfect muffin for fall!
I made these a while ago on my blog and they were WONDERFUL!! I am going to have to make them again for Cade.
Hugs!
Heather
These muffins are sinfully delicious! Made the for school potluck and held a few back for the family. Fyi to other bakers. I had enough topping left over for another batch. I saved in fridge for the next time I make these. Thank you for posting your yummy recipes!
Oh my goodness, these were so fabulous I just can’t help myself! Thanks for sharing the best pumpkin muffins I have ever had. So, so good.
I made these on Sunday… ridiculously delicious! Only 1 of the 24 remains : ) They’re on the same epic-muffin level as the blueberry streusel muffins. Thanks for the recipe!!
These look incredible! Will definitely have to make them this fall. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made these Sunday and they received rave reviews! Thanks for sharing! My husband is already requesting that I make them again!
These are both filled and covered with streseul? I’m sold! They look delicious.
I made these yesterday and they are delicious. I just have one question for anyone who has made them. My cream cheese filling sort of cooked up and down and when you bite into the muffin, there is a clear hole down the middle of the filling. It does not affect the way they taste but not the prettiest when you bit into it. Any ideas on why that would happen or what I could do in the future so it doesn’t happen again?
I appreciate the crumb topping on these…it’s too often forgotten about when there is cream cheese and it is the absolute best part of any muffin in my opinion
Made them today to get into the fall spirit!
It is a forgiving recipe – I used less vegetable oil and sugar and also added oats to the topping and dried cranberries to the batter.
Ended up making 12 muffins and 1 loaf.
SMELLS DELISH and tastes even better!
Smith124 I had the same thing happen. Did you figure out what caused this?
“My cream cheese filling sort of cooked up and down and when you bite into the muffin, there is a clear hole down the middle of the filling.”
As I was mixing the batter, I discovered I had only 1/4 c. of cooking oil. Arggh! what to do…what to do? I knew you can substitute applesauce for some oil, but alas, none of that sitting around either. However, I did have 1cup of leftover crushed pineapple in my fridge, and I thought pineapple and pumpkin would probably work well, so I substituted for the missing oil. The muffins turned out great, with no evidence of being worse off from less oil than called for in the recipe. Bonus: less fat too, so I can eat more, right?
Those muffins look so good!
I just made these and they look delicious, I completely forgot the oil, but they rose, look and taste just right! Thanks for the recipe!
These look amazing! I wonder how they’d do as mini cupcakes …
I made these last week. They were definitely the most deliciously wonderful things I’ve ever eaten… in my life. Thanks for the recipe!
These are super delicious but for some reason I always get 48 out of this recipe and not 24 LOL
Yum! I’m going to make these this morning!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
EEGADS these are divine. I opened the oven door and said “AW!” out loud. And they taste as good as they look.
I’ve made these on two seperate occasions and they are INCREDIBLE. I think I ate half of them myself! By far the best pumpkin recipe out there.
These look yummy. Is it possible to make this in a 9×13 cake pan instead of muffins? Any idea about cooking time? Thanks!
@Sherry,
I actually had a reader say that she did it in a 9X13. She kind of dumped the cream cheese mixture on top and swirled it with a knife. Cooking time I would think around 25-30 minutes at 350 but I would have to try it to be sure.
I have all the ingredients and can’t wait to try these! Thanks for sharing!
I highlighted your recipe on my blog! Come and see!
-Rebecca
http://www.sister-dipity.blogspot.com
Has anyone made these gluten free? If so, can you tell me what to use?
Just made them gluten free…I usually use Pamela’s bread mix (flour blend) in place of the “regular” flour in recipes with great success….these turned out great gluten free—no one will be able to tell! God luck!
Hello Christy:
I know that you used pumpkin in your recipe and i would like to try another like “sweet potato” is it okay?
I haven’t try it yet but I think I will try that one one of these days. And Thanks you about your recipes they help a lot.
I just made these over the weekend, they were to die for.
Just made these yesterday for the first time and again today. Today I decided to put it in a sheet cake pan because I want to serve more people and truthfully, I hate making cupcakes. I just extended the baking time a bit and it turned out fabulous. I’ll be taking the leftovers (if there are any–hehehe) to work tomorrow. Thanks for a great recipe!
While I was making these I was think that there are an awful lot of steps, and it’s pretty time consuming. Then they came out of the oven, and ZOMG! These things are incredible. I almost fainted. My co-workers just scarfed down all 18 that I managed to get to the office.
I just did the calorie break down. The tally is 312 calories per muffin, if you make 24 and use all ingredients. I used \\\”Libby\\\’s 100% Pure Pumpkin\\\” in a can (15 oz: total cal. 140), and I used a reduced fat cream cheese (1 oz = 70 cal). Most vegetable oils are 120 calories per tablespoon, so that is what I used for that.
Substituting all the sugar for a zero calorie sweetener, would save 2402 calories off the recipe (muffins are then 212 cal. each). However, the recipe, as is: delicious!
A Baking Tip: to fill the muffin pan, put all your batter into a 1 gal. ziplock bag. Push out all of the air and zip it shut. Then cut off 1 bottom corner and squeeze the batter out through that hole. Makes for great control without spilling.
I made these yesterday and they are amazing! I thought with all the spice it would be too spicy but it wasn’t and they also have great pumpkin flavor. The cream cheese in the middle real makes these muffins. I’m gonna make these again and again. Thanks for a great recipe!
Who thinks I could freeze these before baking? Or bake, then freeze? We have a TON of people for Thanksgiving this week and want to make this in a 13×9, but we are trying to do as much ahead of time as possible…
I had to try these muffins after accidently finding this website. Oh my dear the best muffin I have ever had in my entire life. I have been making muffins for 25 years and usually I make them full of fruit or pumpkin and I substitute the fat for apple cider. I thought these were so exceptional that I decided to make them full fat and sugar. WOW, I gave a dozen away and kept a dozen for myself. Unbelievable. Only 225 calories a piece and so worth it. I love this website, you are a great, great cook.
I’m going to try these today. Wish me luck!
Good luck!
Made these muffins for my prayer group..the ladies loved them.great recipe,thank you,love your website and. Recipes!!
You’re welcome!
Can this recipe be made into the jumbo sized muffins? I just bought a pan that makes six large muffins and I’ve been looking for a muffin recipe with that kind of topping.
Sure! I don’t see why not?
My house smells AHHH-mazing, my boys are in heaven, and never in my life have I created a muffin that looks as beautiful as the picture! Kudos to the perfect, easy to follow, instructions! These will be regularly made in our house!
*Cheers to the waistline! 😉
Aren’t they the best?!
Hello!
How can Imake pumpkin puree? can I avoid pumpkin pie spice (actually I don’t know what is it!)?
You can buy pumpkin puree or make it with fresh pumpkin. Is that what you’re asking?
Oh and pumpkin pie spice is just a blend of spices. Here’s a recipe for the spice on allrecipes… http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pie-Spice-I/
Do you think a person could substitute melted butter in place of the vegetable oil?
I think so. Usually that can be substituted.
This made 30 muffins!
i made these today and they were wonderful! i will be coming back for more recipes.
Hey these look amazing so I decided to try making them (I’m also a sucker for pumpkin anything). However, when I made my first batch (I only had time to make a dozen), the muffins didn’t rise.. I’m thinking of adding more baking soda but I’m not sure why it happened? I’m new to baking so I followed the recipe pretty exact and I mostly hand mixed the batter with only a little bit of using a blender at a low speed. Suggestions? Let me know as I’m planning on making the second half tonight!
Thanks!!
I think more baking soda would make the problem worse. I’ve never had that happen. I’m not sure what it could be?
Perfection, everything was perfect to a T. I made 24 then had 3 left over muffins without enough cream cheese for them but honestly the batter a lone without even cream cheese is good! This would be yummy to serve I think at a party or dinner with whip cream topped on them ( once cooled of course )
I just stumbled onto this website, and I’m so glad I did! I’ve made 2 of the recipes on here in the last 24 hours! These muffins are soo good! The flavor is perfect. My kids and husband all love them, and I will be making them again next week to take to a church group!
Instead of using the plastic wrap for the filling, I put it in a frosting bag and made 24 small mounds. Easy to put in the muffins from the freezer. Great recipe!!
That’s what I do. It seems much easier 🙂
I made these last fall and was a bit heavy on the cream cheese filling in the first batch, so I doubled it this year…..oops! I have cream cheese everywhere on my first tin of muffins. The second one I barely covered the bottom of the foils with muffin mix and then put a nice heaping gob of ooey gooey creamy cheesey goodness.
I slightly amended the cream cheese concoction as well- added some ground ginger and nutmeg and a touch of vanilla. It’s amazing! I’m trying not to eat it alone while the first muffins are in the oven!
These are an annual favorite in my house- now my 16 year old niece makes them for her family too!
SO GOOD 🙂 taste like pumpkin roll ! I got 30 out of this recipe and had extra filling (didn’t do the dividing thing) Taking to Garden Club tomorrow night so I did refrigerate.
I just made these for Thanksgiving and they came out perfect. Added candied pecan to the top of each to make them prettier.
I have made these muffins several times and they have become the Birthday treat I take to my coworkers and the anticipation is killing them ….I am making them in the morning..I took the day off but am still making sure they get one of these gems yes it s my birthday tomorrow ! try them you will love them 🙂
I just made these muffins, and they came out AMAZING!! I followed this recipe with the 1 can of pumpkin, not wanting to open another can for the additional 1 oz. I also made these gluten free, and just used King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten Free flour, and they came out so good. They are moist and fluffy, and not too sweet which is exactly what I wanted!!! I love all things cream cheese, and I would say to double or at least do 1 1/2 times the cream cheese frosting and powdered sugar so that you can put a little more in each muffin! Also I used medium sized muffin tins and got 33 muffins out of it. Perfect!! 🙂
I wouldn’t open another can either. The 1 ounce wouldn’t make a huge difference.
I made these today and they are AWESOME! Thanks for sharing
Oh my god these look so good! I’m pinning the recipe now, and will be making them this weekend. Thanks for sharing it 🙂
Do you think anything (muffins, mini loaves, regular loaves) with the recipe would freeze well? I made this recipe the other day and made 24 muffins and I had enough extra to make a little mini-loaf (but had run out of cream cheese but it was still amazing w/o it!). Tonight, I made the recipe to make a regular sized pumpkin cream cheese loaf instead, to take with me on vacation tomorrow. I also had enough for 2 mini loaves (this time I made sure I’d have enough of the cream cheese for those little guys, too, ha).
The large loaf is definitely going on vacay with me, but I was thinking of freezing the 2 mini loaves. Do you think it’s worth the risk of ruining them, to freeze them?
I think they would freeze great!
Delicious! My 3 yo wants more of the “inside part.” I had a lot of filling left so I will add more next time.
Just made these tonight so we could have them for breakfast. These are outstanding! A perfect balance of all the flavors. THANK YOU!!!
I just made these today. I couldn’t quite get the topping to work right. Not sure what I did wrong. It was very moist and I even tried adding more flour and sugar and still it just mixed like cookie batter. So I just put chunks of it on top and sprinkled sugar over the top to kind of get the nice crunch and made a cream cheese glaze to go on the top of that. Everyone still loved them!
Really good! 🙂 We tried it out and dressed cupcakes up 😉
http://cupcakewrappersobsession.tumblr.com/
Made these again for the third time. They are delicious.
I made these muffins for a staff breakfast. EVERYONE LOVED THEM!!!! My husband, who is usually very critical, gave these muffins two thumbs up. I will make these again.
I have made these muffins three times so far. They are SO delicious, and relatively easy to make, considering the complex-looking results. Each time I made them, there was enough batter for 3 muffins (without the filling – still very tasty). The second time, I was prepared for this and had some extra tins ready. This is not a complaint about the recipe, just a warning to others.
The muffins are huge, and such a welcome treat to people when I bring them to meetings or wherever.
The last batch I made I took to our county sheriff’s offices as a thank you for doing what they do to keep us safe – they were thrilled for the treat and the acknowledgement of their work.
Ok, I just read a whole bunch of reviews and questions and answers so now I have a question of my own. I want to use fresh pumpkin. I just made a fresh pumpkin pie and the custard is not as heavy/thick as I would like and I don’t know what to do there, but I digress. Would I still use the 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree and if so, how do I make it less watery? Thank you. I will give your recipe a shot also.
Fresh pumpkin tends to be more watery. I’m not the expert on fresh pumpkin but I would think to simmer it until it reduces and thickens.
Hi I was wondering if the cream cheese filling can be in the freezer for more than 2 hours. I dont have time to make the filling and the muffins the same day, so the filling would be in the freezer over night. Can that be done, do you think I should let the cream cheese defrost for a while before using it.
Oh no. That’s totally fine. It actually doesn’t ever get super firm so that would be fine.
I didn’t bother putting it in the freezer, just a dollop in the center and covered it up with matter and the crumb mixture
Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. I am always on the hunt for awesome pumpkin recipes & this is one of the best I’ve ever found. Thank you!!
I agree with all my heart!
Will it work if I just put a lump of plain cream cheese and avoid all that sugar?
Of course!
I skipped freezing the cream cheese mixture and just put a dollop in the center, then covered with batter and the topping. I was way to excited to try them! They are delicious!
Glad to know you can skip the freezing step and it isn’t the worst thing.
Made these this past weekend….they were a hit! Delicious!! I love anything cream cheese but the crunchy topping was a nice surprise too.
So happy to hear that and glad we have the same taste buds.
I am going to try this in a bundt pan. Any suggestions from anyone you think if I sprinkle the topping in the bundt pan first it will burn during cooking? Thanks for any feedback. 1titantyler@gmail.com
Ahh! I’m not sure to be honest. I think it might burn since there’s brown sugar but I can’t be sure because I haven’t seen it.
Well… I accidentally did 3 cups of pumpkin in my muffins. So that must be why they came out so HUGE! hahaha. The batter still tasted amazing, so hopefully the muffins will be the right texture. Waiting for them to cool!
This just in: an accidental 3rd cup of pumpkin + some extra cooking time still produces amazing muffins! …That are gigantic
Hahaha. Good to know!
When it says to put batter in the fridge until ready to use, does that mean I can leave it overnight and make the next day and be fine?
It says leave the topping (the crumble) in the fridge until ready to use. Does that help?
Should these be stored in the refrigerator?
Not necessary.
Im making these again at the request from people at work for our Thanksgiving. Everyone who has eaten them loves them!
Ooh yum! Bet you are popular.
Looks like a great recipe BUT it sounds like too much sugar for me. Can the sugar be reduced? Thanks
Of course. You can reduce it if you want.