Description
These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are moist, flavorful, and perfectly spiced, featuring a luscious cream cheese filling and a crunchy cinnamon streusel topping. Ideal for a cozy fall breakfast or snack, this recipe combines tender pumpkin batter with a rich cream cheese center and a buttery crumble for a delightful texture contrast.
Ingredients
Scale
Muffin Batter
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners to prevent sticking and make removing muffins easy.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger until well combined.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, beat the eggs, pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract thoroughly until smooth and uniform.
- Make Muffin Batter: Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the bowl with dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined, careful not to overmix to keep muffins tender.
- Prepare Cream Cheese Filling: Beat together the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until smooth and creamy with no lumps.
- Make Streusel Topping: In a small bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold, cubed unsalted butter with a pastry cutter or fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Assemble Muffins: Spoon approximately 2 tablespoons of pumpkin batter into each muffin liner, add a spoonful of cream cheese filling in the center, then top with about 1 tablespoon more pumpkin batter. Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel topping over each muffin.
- Bake: Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin (avoiding the cream cheese center) comes out clean.
- Cool: Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Do not overmix the batter to ensure light, fluffy muffins.
- Use cold butter for the streusel topping to achieve a crumbly texture.
- Check muffins with a toothpick around 18 minutes to avoid overbaking.
- Allow muffins to cool slightly before removing from the pan to prevent breakage.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snack, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
