*Updated in September 2021 to include air fryer instructions, tips, and ingredient substitution suggestions.
Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling are the perfect Fall treat! Made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin seasoning these muffins are incredibly moist and tasty. Fill them with a sweet cream cheese filling and you've got a delicious decadent pumpkin muffin. They make an excellent snack or breakfast muffin on a crisp Fall morning.
These Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins need to be on your Fall baking rotation! They are super moist, flavorful and perfectly sweet. You won't be able to have just one, guaranteed.
What came out of a combination of my favorite summer strawberry cheesecake muffins and my tried and true pumpkin spice muffins, is a muffin that you'll want to make all season long!
They are made with real pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice seasoning, which create a burnt orange colored muffin- the perfect color to put you in the mood for Fall.
Pair pumpkin cream cheese muffins with a hot pumpkin spice latte and you've got an irresistible breakfast (or dessert).
They are also delicious paired with you favorite tea or coffee and my crockpot homemade hot chocolate too. Or add them to your Thanksgiving dessert or appetizer table.
Ingredients
You need the following ingredients:
- Pumpkin puree: a homemade puree from a pie pumpkin is fantastic, otherwise used canned pumpkin. Make sure to use real pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix!
- Pumpkin spice seasoning: use a store bought mix or a homemade mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Cream cheese: or neufchatel cheese.
- Brown sugar: use light brown sugar if you can, but dark brown, white or coconut sugar work okay too.
- White sugar: you can use coconut sugar or an unrefined white sugar.
- Extra virgin olive oil: substitute with butter, canola oil, vegetable oil, or coconut oil in the same amount.
- Milk: any milk works, including dairy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or a lactose-free milk. Vanilla almond milk is actually my favorite here!
- Vanilla extract: can leave out if you don't have any without affecting the flavor too significantly.
- Egg: for egg-free muffins, use a flax egg. They are just as great!
- All-purpose flour: I have not tried this recipe with another type of flour.
- Baking powder: a leavening agent so do not eliminate.
*This recipe does not require baking soda.
If you prefer to use something other than pumpkin puree, mashed sweet potato or butternut squash are both great options.
Instructions
This recipe makes 12 standard size muffins or 6 jumbo muffins. If making jumbo muffins, increase the baking time by about 5 minutes. You can double it and keep all ingredients proportionate.
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Prepare your muffin tins by either spraying them with cooking oil, greasing the insides with butter, or lining them with muffin liners. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice seasoning and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, vanilla extract, egg, pumpkin puree and olive oil. Beat these wet ingredients until they are smooth. In a third separate bowl, make the cream cheese filling by mixing the brown sugar and softened cream cheese and until it's smooth and creamy.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until they are just combined, being careful not to over mix. Make sure to scrape all the flour from the bottom of the bowl so it disperses into the batter.
Step 4: Fill each muffin cup halfway to the top with muffin batter. Scoop about one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter.
Step 5: Then cover the cream cheese mixture with another layer of muffin batter. The muffin cups will be filled almost to the topl. Smooth the batter with a spoon or gently wiggle the muffin tin to cover the cream cheese fully (it's fine if some cream cheese is visible).
Step 6: Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. To get them done quicker, you can air fry them at 350°F for 7-10 minutes.
Step 7: Remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin tin for at least 20 minutes before removing. Store in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for up to six months.
Tips
- Ovens vary and you know yours best so make sure to check your muffins on the lower end of the time range and go from there to get the timing right.
- Don't remove the muffins from the tin immediately. The cream cheese needs time to cool, otherwise it will be too soft and the muffins could break. When you do remove them, do it very carefully.
- Don't worry if some of the cream cheese breaks through the muffin top. This usually happens on a few and won't affect cooking time or anything like that.
- You might have some leftover batter- use it to make pumpkin muffins without the cream cheese!
- Instead of adding muffin batter on top of the cream cheese, make a crumb topping.
- Make a cream cheese swirl muffin by lightly mixing together the cream cheese filling and the top layer of the batter after they're added to the muffin tin.
- Top with a cream cheese frosting for extra sweetness!
How To Store
Because of the cream cheese filling, these muffins should be kept in the refrigerator. Leaving them at room temperature could cause bacteria to grow (and no one wants to get sick over a muffin!).
Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days. They can be stored in the freezer about 6 months in a freezer safe bag.
Enjoy!
Recipe
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- spatula
- muffin tray
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk or almond/oat/non-dairy milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree canned or homemade
- ⅔ cup cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and spray 12 muffin cups with oil (or fill with muffin liners).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice seasoning and salt.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk, vanilla extract, egg, pumpkin puree and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix and scraping flour from the bottom of the bowl into the batter.
- In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth.
- Fill each muffin cup ½ way with the muffin batter. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling on top of the batter. Pour a second layer of muffin batter on top of the cream cheese, filling the muffin cups almost to the top. Gently wiggle the muffin tin to smooth out the top layer of batter to cover the cream cheese fully (it's fine if some cream cheese is visible).
- OVEN: Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. AIR FRYER: Air fry at 350°F for 7-10 minutes. (see notes on timing for different size muffins)
- Remove from the oven when done and let cool in the muffin tin for 20 minutes before removing.
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy these delicious muffins! Please let me know what you thought in the comments below.
Enjoy!
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Brianna May
This recipe was super easy to make! My husband loved these. Perfect for the fall! 🙂
Ramona
This recipe is one to make asap - the cream cheese filling must be to die for. I really need to make these pumpkin muffins.
Megan Ellam
These look awesome! Bookmarked for later when I have some pumpkin.
Jeri
These pumpkin muffins are so good! I made a batch of them this afternoon, so yummy! The perfect muffin recipe for fall!
Jenny
These pumpkin muffins are so perfect for fall! They turned out super moist and were soooo easy to make!