Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
There is no better way to welcome fall than with these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins! A moist, tender, ultra pumpkin-y muffin, filled with sweetened cream cheese, and topped with cinnamon sugar crunch topping! They are irresistible! If it’s too hot where you are, these muffins are guaranteed to make the leaves start falling off your trees. Originally published on November 10, 2011.
If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend watching foreigners watch classic movies. Eric and I made a reference to Darth Vader once in front of Huy, a friend of ours from Vietnam. It slowly dawned on us that Huy had no knowledge whatsoever of Star Wars, a realization most shocking to Eric, who is possibly the biggest Star Wars geek ever. (Actually probably not. There are some real Star Wars freaks out there.)
And so a Star Wars marathon ensued. Every week or so we would get a bunch of food and people together and watch the movies, starting with the classics of course. I’ve seen those movies a dozen times at least, but I can’t tell you how awesome it was to watch someone else watch it for the first time.
You should have seen Huy’s face when Vader tells Luke that he is his father. Huy turned to us, complete disbelief on his face, and said, “You’re joking. He’s joking right? This is not real?”
A few weeks ago we introduced Huy to The Princess Bride. I guess he didn’t know it was supposed to be funny, because while I was cracking up and quoting lines (Anybody want a peanut?) he was just watching, stony faced, waiting for the story to pick up.
Maybe if I didn’t have so many memories attached to movies from my childhood I wouldn’t think they were so great. Once we were having a family party for someone’s birthday. My brother Nathan was about 4 or 5 I think, and he was sword fighting with my cousin. Nathan was Inigo, Tony was Count Rugen. There must have been a lull in the conversation, because everyone in the room heard Nate deliver his final line: I want my father back, you son of a–!
Except he really said it, as he slashed Tony through the armpit. Try explaining to a 4 year old that even though 25 people just erupted in laughter, it is not appropriate to use that kind of language.
You’ll LOVE this Recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
I digress. Back to the food. I think pretty much any dessert could be made 10 times better by adding a cream cheese filling or layer. Chocolate cupcakes? Check. Pecan Pie? Check. French Toast Casserole? Check. These pumpkin cream cheese muffins? Double check. Tender, super tall muffin, with sweetened cream cheese in the middle means there is never a boring bite. And of COURSE there’s streusel on top. Seriously what is the point of a muffin without streusel?
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
These pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling take just 10 minutes to prep. See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the full instructions.
- Cream cheese (softened)
- Powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Pumpkin puree (make sure you’re using pumpkin puree; NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- Vegetable oil
- All-purpose flour
- Spices (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to spice up your muffins)
- Baking soda
- Crumb topping (granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cold butter)
How to make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- First start out by mixing up your cream cheese filling. Spread it out on some plastic wrap, roll it up, and stick it in the freezer while you make the muffins. Cold filling in the middle of baking muffins means the filling stays put in the middle of the muffin!
2. Next stir up your muffin batter. It’s really simple.Mix in those dry ingredients. I like to stir the dry ingredients together with the teaspoon I used, doing it right on top of the wet batter. Saves an extra bowl for the dry ingredients!
3. Add about a tablespoon of muffin batter to a muffin liner. Top with a section of the chilled cream cheese mixture.
4. Meanwhile, cut together your streusel using a pastry cutter.
5. Top with more batter, almost right to the top of the liner. Then top with a bit of streusel and pop it in the oven!
Tips for making the BEST muffins of your life
I’ve learned a lot about muffin baking in the 7 years since I published this post! Here are my best muffin tips for the TALLEST, domiest (that’s a word right?), dreamiest bakery style muffins of your life. You can make incredible muffins at home, I promise! These tips can be applied to any muffin recipe. Here are the secrets:
- Spray the top of your muffin pan with nonstick spray so the muffin top will pop out easily.
- Use paper liners, always
- Fill the muffin batter almost to the top of the muffin liner. Yes, really. Trust me!
- Bake at a super high temperature (425 F) for 5-6 minutes until the muffins have risen over the top of the pan. Then lower the temperature to 350 without opening the oven door and finish baking.
- Pop the muffins out of the pan 1-2 minutes after removing from the oven (yes, when they are burning hot) so that the bottoms don’t get soggy. Use a butter knife to help you. Place them on a cooling rack.
That’s it! You can use these rules with any muffin batter. The high temperature to start is the key to tall fluffy muffins.
Below is my original photo of these muffins, taken back in November 2011. This was one of the first recipes I posted on my blog! It’s a winner guys!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin Storage
Can I freeze muffins with cream cheese filling?
Yes! You can freeze these muffins for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to serve them again, just thaw them in the fridge or on the counter and they’re ready to go.
Can cream cheese muffins sit out?
I store these muffins on the counter for a first day or two. After that I would store them in the fridge. If you know you won’t be able to eat them all in a day or two, I recommend storing them in the freezer, it keeps them super fresh! If you like a warm muffin (and who doesn’t), you can always grab one from the fridge/freezer and pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds.
Here are some other pumpkin recipes you will love!
- Easy Pumpkin Pie Cake << It’s like all the best parts about pumpkin pie…in cake form. Plus it’s EASY to boot.
- Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake << I call this a cake, but it barely qualifies. It’s got more of a brownie texture. IT’S SO GOOD. Personal fav.
- Pumpkin Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies << this is my first blog post ever! Good times. GOOD COOKIES. oh yeah.
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing << Super soft and thick with a delicious icing
- Crème Brulee Pumpkin Pie << A twist on the classic with a crispy top layer
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake from Spend With Pennies
More pumpkin desserts with cream cheese:
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies << Sometimes you need some chocolate with your pumpkin
- Pumpkin Roll Recipe with Lots of Cream Cheese Frosting << I LOVE this pumpkin roll recipe!
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting << Yes. I’m serious.
- Paul’s Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting << A family favorite that lives on!
- Cream Cheese Pumpkin Puffs << These simple little treats are delectable
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread from Dinner Then Dessert
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Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
For the muffins
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups pumpkin puree (or 15 oz can)
- 1 & 1/3 cups vegetable oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the crumb topping
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed until blended and smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom.
- Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap. Use a spatula to transfer the cream cheese mixture onto the plastic wrap in a log shape, about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter.
- Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, sealing the ends well. You can reinforce with more plastic wrap or foil if you want. Transfer to the freezer and chill at least 2 hours, or overnight. You want the cream cheese log to be firm enough to slice.
- To make the muffins, spray the tops of 2 muffin pans with nonstick spray. (Don’t focus on spraying the inside of the muffin wells, just grease the top so that the muffin tops will come off the pan nicely.)
- Fill each tin with paper cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the eggs until blended. Add 2 cups sugar, the pumpkin puree and the oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended, scraping the sides and bottom if necessary.
- Add 3 cups of spooned and leveled flour, but do not mix it in yet. Make a small well in the flour, and add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Use a small spoon to stir it into a flour a bit.
- Use a large spatula to mix the wet and dry ingredients together. You can use the mixer if you want, just be very careful not to over mix. Only stir until the flour has barely been incorporated. Make sure there are no liquid-y parts, and remember to scrape the sides and bottom well.
- Cover and put the muffin batter into the fridge to rest for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Time to make the crumb topping. In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1/3 cup flour and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; whisk to blend. Add in the cold butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. You could also use your hands to incorporate the butter. The mixture should look like coarse sand with pea-size chunks of butter throughout.
- To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a tablespoon of chilled batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner.
- Slice the log of frozen cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well.
- Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups. Fill the batter nearly to the top of the liner; there should only be between 1/4 and 1/8 inch of space at the top.
- Sprinkle about a tablespoon of the crumb topping over each muffin. Chill the assembled muffins if there is any time lapse before you bake.
- Bake for 6 minutes at 425 degrees.
- After 6 minutes, without opening the oven door, turn on your oven light and look at the muffins. They should have risen about 1/4 inch above the edge of pan by now. If not, leave them in 1 minute longer at 425.
- Once the muffins have puffed over the edge of the pan, lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Seriously.
- Once you have lowered the heat to 350, bake for another 13-15 minutes. The muffins should not be shiny in the center, and a toothpick inserted should come out with no wet batter on it.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 2 minutes.
- Use a butter knife to help loosen the edges of the muffins, and remove to a wire rack to cool. I know they are still very hot after 2 minutes, but taking them out of the pan right away will keep the muffins from getting soggy.
- Eat one muffin as soon as humanly possible considering how hot they are, then let the rest cool completely on the wire rack.
- Store covered on the fridge for 1-2 days, after that refrigerate them.
- These muffins (and all muffins!) freeze very well. Once cool, place in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Let thaw in the closed bag on the counter. Warm up in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to live your best life.
Notes
I found this recipe in 2011 on one of my favorite blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything. She got the recipe from Annie’s Eats, who got the recipe from Bakespace. It is well-loved!
Nutrition
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I have made the pumpkin cream cheese muffins for years. I serve them for breakfast throughout the fall, and anytime I have canned pumpkin on hand. You’re right – they are absolutely delicious! I got my recipe from an old church cookbook.
I can’t say enough good things about these muffins, they are absolutely delicious. for the lucky few that I do share, family and friends are completely WOWED! just curious if you have any similar recipes that are the same, but not pumpkin? I know, who doesn’t love pumpkin?!! (I shockingly know a few!) so I just wanted to know if I could re-create a similar recipe with a different flavor profile?
Hi AD, I’m so glad you are loving the muffins! I think a lot of the magic of these muffins is in the cream cheese filling. Take it and add it to the center of literally ANY muffin recipe and you can’t go wrong! I recently made these Raspberry Lemon Muffins with the cream cheese filling from this pumpkin recipe. except I used cranberries and did a streusel instead of a glaze. It was so good! Have fun playing!
I would love to try these muffins but not with all that vegetable oil. Do you have any other substitute?
Hi Jenny! Oil is what makes moist muffins :) I always use light olive oil when a baking recipe calls for vegetable oil. (It’s light in flavor, not calories) Try it out!
I made these this morning as I really do love the Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin! I stumbled on your recipe last week and decided I needed to give it a try. They are truly amazing and definitely equal to or superior to the Starbucks version. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
We love these muffins! They are a favourite with everyone!
These sound yummy ! But why didn’t you add baking directions of ‘425 degrees for 5-6 min, then reduce to 350’ in your printable recipe?? Just wondering. I’ll be trying these soon !
I have overnight guests coming tomorrow and want to make these for the next morning but don’t want to make a lot of noise in the kitchen before they get up. Do you think I could prep these completely Sunday morning and put the filled muffin pan in the fridge overnight so I just have to pop it in the oven Monday morning?
Hi Marci! I would be a little nervous about this. The baking soda will start activating in the batter as soon as you mix it, creating gas and air bubbles that are meant to lift your muffin, but if they sit in the fridge overnight it might be “used up” and then your muffins would be dense. If you do try this, I would increase the baking soda. Couldn’t tell you how much. Maybe an extra teaspoon? Hard to say without testing. Good luck!
Thanks, that’s what I was thinking as well. I was hoping there was some miracle trick that would work. I’m going with a compromise. The cream cheese is in the freezer and I’ve mixed up the wet and dry separately and stored them for a quick and easy finish before baking. I’ll let you know how it goes!
These look delicious! I really want to make a pumpkin bread and was wondering if this batter would work the same? I used your banana bread recipe so I really trust you with making flavorful, moist treats :)
You are so sweet Talia! I’m flattered :) I haven’t tried this as pumpkin bread, but I think it will work fine. Quick bread and muffin batter are basically the same. You will definitely need at least 2 (3??) pans. I’m not sure about the cream cheese filling, it might be too heavy and fall. Let me know how it goes!
I made these yesterday, started with cream cheese filling, made crumb topping, put them in freezer then after dinner finished off mixing and baking. Wonderful! They taste awesome. I just didnt realize they make so much. I read the recipe knew it yielded 24 yet didnt realize how many I would have. This recipe will go into my folder with stars.
It does indeed make a lot of muffins! Fortunately they freeze really well! Pop them in the freezer and pull one out when you need a muffin fix. I’m so glad you enjoyed them, thank you for taking the time to review!
I have made these pumpkin muffins several times. They are the best. If you are a pumpkin lover, try these.
I’m so happy you loved the recipe Terry! Thanks for sharing your review!
Why do you need the powdered sugar in the cream cheese? I like cream cheese the way it is. Just seems like a lot of extra sugar.
I like sugar and think it tastes good? That’s all I got Laurie haha. You can totally leave it out!
The powered sugar helps lighten up the cream cheese making the whole muffin light and fluffy.
They turned out beautifully. Everyone loved them. Am just about to make them again
So happy to hear that Nila! Thanks for reviewing!
I made these this past weekend and they are absolutely delicious! Super moist and very flavorful. This recipe is a keeper!
That’s awesome Anka! The cream cheese makes them so moist. Thanks for much for reviewing!!
These muffins were wonderful! Very moist & delicious. Takes a little time to make–but so worth it! Definitely a keeper!
Thanks Terrie! You are right, they are worth it in the end!
These muffins look insanely good Karen! Love all the tips! Another tip I’ve learned after baking many muffins is that if you let the batter sit after you scoop it for about 10-15 minutes before baking, the muffins will rise more!
Perfect Anita! I will have to remember that for next time!! Thanks!
I made this muffins a couple months ago and they were such a hit that I’ve made 4-5 batches since then! My Mom even requested that I make them and she took them to a work potluck! These freeze well and I think they might even come out more moist. Great recipe! It’s a keeper!
So happy to hear that Twila!! Thanks for reviewing!
Delicious. These muffins are a big hit with everyone that tasted them. The first time I made them, I did not place the cream cheese log in the freezer long enough. I read the recipe through a number of times, but somehow missed the part of freezing them until firm. I took them to share at cards, stored some in the freezer and served to company during the Thanksgiving holidays. So perfect!! I am about to make another batch today.
I’m so glad you liked the muffins Terry! They are definitely company-worthy! :) Thanks for coming back to comment!
I made this recipe and substituted ricotta for the cream cheese as I didn’t have any cream cheese. I also used pureed pumpkin from the pumpkins I carved for Hallowe’en. It turned out really light and delicious. This is a keeper as I will be using it again.
Great idea using ricotta Anne, I bet that was delicious! Thanks so much for coming back to comment! :)
Live in England and prior to kids, I travelled to the US a lot. Pumpkins cream cheese muffins were one of my guilty pleasures! Although I had to improvise the pumpkin spice mix am pretty pleased with these!!
No pumpkin spice muffins in the coffee shops in England? You need to tell them our secret! ;) I’m so glad you liked the recipe Victoria! Thanks for the comment!
All the cream cheese filling oozed out the top. What did I do wrong?
Hey Brooke! I’m sorry to hear that! The cheesecake filling rises in the oven, so it needs to be put in pretty low to begin with. I’m wondering if you just filled the muffin tin with too much batter before adding the cheesecake filling? You only need about a tablespoon of batter on the bottom.
Oh My!!! Your recipes never fail. These are the absolute bomb. I made them 48 of them for a ladies retreat…they are you going to love them…though truth me told only 44 are making it to the retreat because my better half couldn’t keep his hands off em.
Thanks for another winner
OMG I should have made two batches they did not even last for me to take one home! They were super delish! Of course they did not look as pretty and my crumble on top didn’t turn out like the picture and the cream cheese middle didn’t harden up fully but man O man they were so very good. My son doesn’t like pumpkin and he ate two so I would say they were a success.
I’m so glad you and your son liked them Kelly! These muffins freeze so well, it is tempting to double the batch, right? (48 muffins is not at all excessive, come on now ;) Thank you so much for your feedback, I love hearing from you! Hooray for fall baking!
It looks like wrote to add the flour twice in your cream cheese pumpkin muffins.
Ah thanks for catching that Jacqueline! I will fix it!
So beautiful creation for the best time of year ! Thank you so much !
I’m sitting here drooling at the crunchy topping and the cream cheese filling. Please can I have like a dozen right now? 😁
These look and sound delish. Step 23 is my favorite.
Haha thanks Allison! Let’s be real, who’s gonna make muffins and not eat one hot ;) Hope you get to try them soon!
My little sister made these today and they are SO good. I had to stop myself 😍🤤
Haha it is hard to stop once you start! Thanks!
How about a direct way to print the recipe? There are far too many ads on your page.
Hey David! There is a print button at the top right of every recipe card. I’m sorry the ads are annoying. Girl’s gotta make a living though! Someday when I’m able to help my kids pay for college I’ll ask them to send you a thank you note. :)
When you go to print your recipe there’s a big empty spot for the ad but the ad doesnt print so whats the point of the ad on your recipe print spot? >:(
Hey Tanya! That’s annoying. I’ll check with my ad provider to see if they can get rid of it for printing! Thanks for the feedback!
I have been craving these for months. Yet, since it is like still 110 degrees every day here in Del Rio, I have been telling myself, “No, wait little Sarah, be patient and your muffin time will come.” NO! I WILL WAIT NO LONGER! It is back-to-school time and I am making these NOW! The moment September hits, all pumpkin desserts are totally acceptable. Right??
i need to invest in a case of pumpkin, evidently! can’t wait to have you here for awhile to cook for me. what, you thought i was going to cook?
and that ‘fight’ between nate and tony? one of my best memories ever!
That cracked me up. I have all the stuff for these muffins! Too bad I am starving myself to recover from an especially glutinous halloween.
Karen, you tell the best stories. I love this blog. You are so wonderful and I’m so lucky Eric married you. Another talented woman in the family.