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
Can I make the cream cheese filling the night before and then get it out when I’m ready for it the next day?
Yes, totally.
These muffins are loved by everyone who consumes them. I always end up with extra batter/filling, though, so I always prepare extra muffin tins (3-4). This is a pretty simple recipe to prepare.
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
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.
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.
Should these be stored in the refrigerator?
Not necessary.
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?
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!
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.
Did you ever try the bundt pan? I want to do the same. I’ve made the muffins or a version of them many times and would like to cut down on a few steps.
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 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.
Will it work if I just put a lump of plain cream cheese and avoid all that sugar?
Of course!
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
Made these again for the third time. They are delicious.
Really good! 🙂 We tried it out and dressed cupcakes up 😉
http://cupcakewrappersobsession.tumblr.com/
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!
Just made these tonight so we could have them for breakfast. These are outstanding! A perfect balance of all the flavors. THANK YOU!!!
Delicious! My 3 yo wants more of the “inside part.” I had a lot of filling left so I will add more next time.
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!
Oh my god these look so good! I’m pinning the recipe now, and will be making them this weekend. Thanks for sharing it 🙂
I made these today and they are AWESOME! Thanks for sharing
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 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 for Thanksgiving and they came out perfect. Added candied pecan to the top of each to make them prettier.
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 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!
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 🙂