This recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins makes delicious fall breakfast bites and snacks!
The first time I had a pumpkin cream cheese muffin was at Starbucks. Have you ever had their pumpkin cream cheese muffins? They're so buttery, fluffy, and rich. And they have this nice pocket in the middle stuffed with a cream cheese flavored filling.
While the Starbucks version is mighty tasty, I wanted to make a version (sort of like a Starbucks Copycat recipe) with more whole food ingredients and less food additives. Whenever I see a looooong list of ingredients that are tricky to pronounce - like the Carrageenan and Propylene Glycol Alginate that are in Starbucks' muffins - I know that there's got to be a better way to make these at home.
Plus, I love making muffins, and the family loves eating them. They're the perfect grab-and-go breakfast or after-school snack! Our lemon blueberry muffins, apple cinnamon (veggie) muffins, and double berry chocolate chip muffins are on regular rotation at our house. But when fall hits, it's definitely pumpkin time!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
I've experimented with a recipe that I found on Taste of Home and adapted it to my family's liking. The addition of streusel topping is a must. Instead of one pocket of cream cheese filling, I like that this one almost lays on top of the batter, and pops out through the streusel topping.
Making the Muffins
Another reason I love making muffins is that they're fairly simple to put together.
streusel topping muffin batter drop half muffin batter in lined cups top each with tablespoonfuls of the cream cheese filling 
top with remaining muffin batter, then sprinkle streusel topping
For this recipe, you mix together the cream cheese filling in one bowl, the streusel topping in another bowl, and the muffin batter in a third bowl.
From there, it's simply a matter of layering. You start with half the muffin batter. Then top it with the cream cheese filling, and then the remaining half of the muffin batter. Finally, sprinkle a generous amount of streusel topping for the final layer.
Do pumpkin muffins need to be refrigerated?
Because these muffins have cream cheese in them, you should refrigerate them after they've cooled off. They'll keep in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze these pumpkin cream cheese muffins
What is Pumpkin Spice made of?
My daughter and I had this discussion just the other day. She wondered what exactly was pumpkin spice. Most of the pumpkin spice you find in the baking aisle of the grocery store is a mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Mixture
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Streusel Topping
- 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp butter, cut into small cubes
Muffins
- 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 18 muffin cups with baking liners, or grease and flour the cups directly in the tin. Set aside.
Make the cream cheese mixture
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth. Then add the egg, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. Set aside.
Make the streusel topping
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together flour, sugars, cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork (or two forks, or your hands) until crumbly. Add more flour one tablespoon at a time if needed for a more crumbly texture. Set aside.
Make the muffins
- In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt. In a separate large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, canned pumpkin, and vegetable oil. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Spoon batter into the lined muffin cups, filling each until just over half full. Drop in a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture over the center of the batter in each cup; add more as you wish. Generously sprinkle streusel topping over each muffin.
- Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes (muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean). Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing from pans to a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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Cynthia J says
Delicious! Make extra cream-cheese to fill in.
Cynthia says
Delicious. Like the streusel topping!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
So glad you love it Cynthia! Thanks!