Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

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Pumpkin season is honestly my favorite time of year to bake and these cream cheese stuffed muffins are everything I love about fall in one bite. The muffin itself is so moist and warmly spiced, and then you hit that creamy, slightly sweet cream cheese center and it is just perfection. I have made these for school mornings, for hosting brunch, and honestly just because I wanted something cozy on a rainy afternoon.

The best part is that they are not complicated at all. You make two simple components, the pumpkin batter and a quick cream cheese filling, and then layer them together in the muffin tin. The oven does all the work and your whole kitchen smells incredible for an hour. These are the kind of muffins people ask you for the recipe at every single gathering.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Moist, warmly spiced pumpkin muffins with a swirl of sweet cream cheese filling baked right into the center — the fall breakfast treat you will make all season long.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Total Time 42 minutes mins

Servings: 12 muffins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1.75 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened for filling
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar for filling
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract for filling

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Fold wet ingredients into dry until just combined.
5. Make the cream cheese filling: beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
6. Fill each muffin cup halfway with pumpkin batter. Add a spoonful of cream cheese filling to the center. Top with more pumpkin batter.
7. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the side (not the cream cheese center) comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes

Make sure your cream cheese is fully softened or the filling will be lumpy. These muffins actually taste even better the next day once the flavors meld. Store covered at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5.

What You’ll Need

Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices already in it. The spice blend in this recipe is dialed in perfectly and you want to be in control of that. Full fat cream cheese also makes a big difference in the filling, it stays creamier and has better flavor than reduced fat versions.

Tips for Making This

The cream cheese filling needs to be fully softened or you will get lumps that do not bake out nicely. Take it out of the fridge at least an hour before you start. When filling the muffin cups, the goal is to completely encase the cream cheese with batter so it stays inside as a pocket rather than melting and spreading. And when you are checking doneness, insert the toothpick into the pumpkin part, not through the cream cheese center, or you will get a false reading.

The Final Word

These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are the recipe that will make people think you are a serious baker. They look and taste impressive and they are genuinely one of the easiest things I make all fall. Bake a batch this weekend and thank yourself later.

Tools for This Recipe

• USA Pan 12 Well Muffin Pan: A sturdy nonstick muffin tin that bakes evenly and releases muffins cleanly.
• OXO Good Grips Large Cookie Scoop: Makes it easy to portion batter evenly and keep the cream cheese pocket tucked inside.
• FineDine Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls: A nesting set with plenty of sizes for the pumpkin batter and the cream cheese filling.

So glad you are here. Pam