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These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are super moist and fluffy and feature a cheesecake filling! Made with easy ingredients, they take just 25 minutes to bake.
How do you elevate the humble pumpkin muffin? Stuff it with cream cheese and add a streusel topping!
The popular Starbucks pumpkin muffin inspired these pumpkin cheesecake muffins. After doing many taste tests and so much recipe testing, I’ve created an even better version that is deceptively easy to make and perfect for Fall… and so much cheaper too!
These muffins have the best texture– they are super moist and fluffy, and the cream cheese filling is creamy and smooth. Once you add the streusel topping over each one, it adds a subtle crunch that completes it.
Taste-wise, it’s full of warming pumpkin flavor, and the filling actually tastes like cheesecake!
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- Simple ingredients. Pumpkin, eggs, and some pantry staple ingredients are all you’ll need.
- Ready in under 25 minutes. From prep to plate, these take almost no time at all.
- Perfect for the holidays. These are the ultimate seasonal baked goods that are a must for the holiday season or when you want a little something between meals or after dinner.
What we love about this recipe is that everything is made with a couple of mixing bowls. No fancy gadgets or kitchen utensils are needed, and clean-up is a breeze.
Ingredients needed
This recipe calls for very simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Here is what you’ll need:
- All purpose flour. Simple and perfect for baking. I’ve also tried these muffins with wholewheat flour and it works well too. Just be wary that the muffins will be darker in color and a teensy bit more dense.
- Baking soda. Gives the muffins some rise and fluffiness.
- Salt. Just a pinch to balance out the sweet ingredients.
- Eggs. Room temperature.
- Pumpkin puree. Unsweetened pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Maple syrup. Adds sweetness to the muffins. You can also use honey or agave nectar.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any good muffin.
- Coconut oil OR butter. I prefer using coconut oil but melted butter also works. If you do go for the coconut option, opt for refined coconut oil, which has no coconut flavor.
- Sweet cream cheese filling. A combination of softened cream cheese and sugar. Do not use light or reduced-fat cream cheeses as they have added moisture, and the lack of fat will dry them out once completely baked.
- Streusel topping. Classic crumb ingredients like butter, brown sugar, flour, and a touch of cinnamon.
How to make pumpkin cream cheese muffins
Besides prepping the three parts of the muffin batter, there isn’t much hands-on time needed. Ready to get your bake on?
Step 1- Make the muffin batter. Start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until a smooth batter remains.
Step 2- Make the cheesecake filling. In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese with sugar until combined.
Step 3- Make the streusel. Add the melted butter to a bowl, followed by the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
Step 4- Assemble the muffins. Now, fill a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners. Fill 2/3 of each muffin liner with the batter, followed by a spoonful of the cream cheese filling, more batter, then a sprinkle of streusel on top.
Step 5- Bake. Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out mostly clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Avoid overbaking the muffins, as they will continue to cook as they are cooling down.
- The streusel topping is completely optional, so feel free to omit if desired.
- If you’d like a sweeter muffin, you can use pumpkin pie filling instead.
- Use a small cookie scoop to portion out the muffin batter into the muffin pan.
- Add other spices like ground nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, or pumpkin pie spice.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover muffins can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container for up to five days. If you’d like them to keep longer, store them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
To freeze: Place the cooled muffins in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
More delicious pumpkin recipes to try
Frequently asked questions
There are 197 calories in each muffin. These are the better options than the Starbucks ones, which have over 450 calories each.
If you find your muffins are gummy, it is due to there not being enough batter covering the cream cheese filling. For the muffins to be super moist and fluffy, there needs to be ample muffin batter throughout.
When made with gluten-free flour, these muffins are suitable for those who are celiac.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cheesecake filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
For the streusel topping
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Gently fold through dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sugar. In another bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
- Fill each muffin liner with 2/3 of the muffin batter. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture into the center. Fill with the remaining 1/3 of muffin butter on top. Sprinkle the streusel topping on each one.
- Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the muffin tin completely.
I can totally get down with recipes if they contain cream cheese. Keep posting cream cheese-filled goodies, haha! Also, I saw that sammie at Starbs the other day and I’m totally making it with my turkey day leftovers.
OMG. Please do then invite me over next year for dinner. I’ll bring….nutella for the bub 😉
Urgh I wish the UK celebrated Thanksgiving (well a UK version of it, obv we didn’t have the pilgrim, Indian story and all that jazz!) – it just seems so amazing to get together with friends and family and celebrate what you are thankful for, especially that big huge Turkey filled tasty meal…
We can just watch from ‘the worlds window’ and look longingly inside and their joy! Haha!
I think I’ll eat a Turkey sandwich in their honour!
See that right there is the reason I don’t usually stuff things in my muffins I have a fear of things exploding all over the oven and then never being able to get it properly clean.
So thanks for taking one for the team and perfecting these because they look delicious! If you want to bring some with you are more than welcome to come join our Thanksgiving table 🙂
YES- please do! I’m emailing you back right now!
I’m jealous seeing everyone get ready for Thanksgiving too! I mean, we already had Canadian Thanksgiving, but it seems like it was so long ago… I wish we could have another one this month!
I can’t understand how you don’t like pumpkin pie… but I CAN understand why you love these. They look amazing! 🙂
I associate you with kale and pumpkin pie- ironically, two of my least favoured things. I wonder what that says….
These look awesome! I already have all the ingredients =) including a pumpkin flavored cream cheese which would be awesome in the center 🙂 🙂
I hope you try them out and they DON’T burst! I never knew they had pumpkin cream cheese!
Thanksgiving is probably my least favorite holiday. Too much meat, weird jello molds, and bastardized veggies, It ain’t my thing so no FOMO here.
Rock out with your muffins out, or at least the exploding cream cheese filling.
we need to swap places then. I will have you on speed dial this Thursday!
If it makes you feel any better, even though we celebrate Thanksgiving up here in Canadaland, it doesn’t really seem to be as big of a deal as it is in the States… it’s just kind of over before anyone really realizes it’s happening. Heck, we didn’t even bother cooking turkey for our last one because no one was really in the mood 😆 Muffins I’m always in the mood for, though… just don’t ever use muffins and cauliflower in the same sentence…
Haha, did you guys eat a bananas?
You should make cauliflower muffins!
Oh you know what is UP, Arman. I’m talking about these muffins, not the Starbucks sandwich.
Pumpkin pie is alriiiighhhttt, but it does not compare to the glory that is apple pie. But in reality, it’s the stuffing that has my heart/belly on Thanksgiving.
How about pecan pie? Or that chocolate chip cookie you snap’d me!
Pumpkin Pie is what I am looking forward to most! I guess that answers your 2nd question. 🙂
Oh no! Well, you can enjoy a second slice for…me 😉
OMG i can’t tell if i’m really happy or really sad that i JUST pulled another loaf of your carrot cake bread from my oven.. because i still want it but now i want these. although since i don’t make decisions i guess i need both. looks like next weekend we know what is going to be happening =l as if pumpkin and nut butter couldn’t convince me to make ANYTHINGGG!
p.s. those apple pie gluten free and vegan bars. please crush one up and make me a sundae now 🙂 still deciding what to make for thanksgiving dessert and ironically pumpkin pie isn’t on the list!
DUDE. My recipe today is in your honour!!! (again lol!).
James is not a pumpkin pie fan either. In fact, he’s making pavlova. Oh bh i foresee Pavlova cheesecake muffins next! Yes?
OH. Dude. Pavlova oatmeal.
Ask James if he likes Turkish Delight. There is delicious (GF!) protein bar here which tastes EXACTLY like Turkish delight!
um, he’s obsessed with turkish delight! which bar is it?? i must find!
Looks like you have really perfected this recipe after your trial and error attempts, persevering definitely paid off. I wish we celebrated Thanksgiving in the UK too, such a lovely celebration.
We can celebrate virtually!
Haha way to persevere! These look awesome! Also, I am a fellow pumpkin pie hater. But I can totally get on board with these. Also, you should TOTALLY have T day in Australia.
Thanks so much, Erica. I am abit over these, thanks to all the failed attempts lol! I will eat a turkey sub from Subway in it’s honour!