Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Fall is officially here, and that means it’s time to break out the pumpkin recipes! One of the best ways to embrace the flavors of the season is by indulging in a batch of homemade Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. These delectable treats are a delightful fusion of tender pumpkin muffins and a rich swirl of cream cheese filling. 

If you love baking breakfast treats, you’ll definitely want to try my monkey bread recipe along with my sour cream coffee cake.

If you love delicious pumpkin cream cheese muffins and baked goods with fall flavors, be sure to check out all of my pumpkin recipes! And since pumpkin and cream cheese make such a great combination, I’m sure you’ll also love my old fashioned pumpkin roll recipe and pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Reasons to Make These Muffins

If you’ve ever enjoyed a Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, you’ll know exactly why this combination is so magical. 

The sweet cream cheese filling complements the moist pumpkin muffin perfectly. 

It’s like having dessert for breakfast!

• Simple Ingredients: One of the best parts of this recipe is that it uses simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen. From all-purpose flour to pumpkin puree, eggs to vanilla extract, everything comes together beautifully to create a harmonious flavor profile.
• The Cream Cheese Filling: The star of the show in these muffins is undoubtedly the cream cheese filling. With each bite, enjoy a rich swirl of cream cheese running through the center of each muffin, giving them a delightful sweet taste.
• A Taste of Autumn in Every Bite: Pumpkin spice is the quintessential flavor of the fall season, and this recipe makes excellent use of it. The combination of the sweet cream cheese filling, tender pumpkin muffin, and pumpkin spice flavor creates a delightful symphony of flavors that’s perfect for a cozy fall breakfast or an afternoon treat with your favorite coffee.
• The Copycat Starbucks Experience: For those who adore the Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, making these at home will give you the satisfaction of enjoying a copycat version. Plus, you can customize them to your liking, adding more or less cream cheese filling, a streusel topping, or even crunchy pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients Needed

The ingredients used in this recipe are separated into two parts.

Pumpkin Muffin Ingredients

To make the pumpkin muffin portion, you will need all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.

Cream Cheese Mixture Ingredients

You will need cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract for the cheesecake topping that gets swirled into the muffin batter prior to baking.

How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Prior to mixing the batter, you will need to preheat the oven and prepare your muffin pan by adding a muffin liner to each well or greasing them with nonstick spray or butter.

Make Pumpkin Muffin Batter

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set it aside.

Next, you will combine the wet ingredients. Using a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, sugar and brown sugar. 

Then, mix in the eggs, oil and vanilla extract.

Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until there are no lumps. 

Mix the Cream Cheese Topping 

In a medium bowl with electric beaters, or in a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. 

Add in the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat the mixture until it is fully combined.

Bake the Muffins

Fill the muffin cups evenly about 3/4 full with the pumpkin batter.

Top each muffin with a small spoonful of the delicious cream cheese filling.

Use a toothpick or a butter knife to swirl the cheesecake mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

Place the muffins into the preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Once removed from the oven, allow the muffins to sit in the hot muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

FAQs

This recipe was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated with helpful information, ingredient and process photos, as well as recipe tips. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!