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Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins: Easy Fall Recipe

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These Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Streusel Topping are everything you want in a fall recipe. Easy enough for a weekday morning, special enough for a holiday brunch, and forgiving enough for beginner bakers.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup (245g) pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar (for filling)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for filling)
  • 1 large egg yolk (for filling)
  • ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar (for streusel)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for streusel)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for streusel)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed (for streusel)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line your muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. Make the streusel first. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup flour, ¼ cup packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Whisk to combine. Add ¼ cup cold butter, cubed into small pieces. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse sand with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Pop this in the fridge while you make the batter and filling.
  3. Make the cream cheese filling. In a medium bowl, beat 8 ounces softened cream cheese with ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 egg yolk. Use a fork or a small whisk and mix until smooth and completely combined. Set this aside at room temperature.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. Whisk for about 15 seconds to aerate and distribute everything evenly.
  5. Mix the wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup pumpkin puree, ½ cup vegetable oil, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup packed brown sugar, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Whisk until smooth and glossy.
  6. Combine wet and dry. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold everything together gently. Stir just until you see no more streaks of flour. A few lumps are totally fine.
  7. Fill the muffin cups. Using your cookie scoop or a spoon, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Each cup should be about ⅔ full.
  8. Add the cream cheese filling. Drop a generous teaspoonful of cream cheese mixture onto the center of each muffin. Don’t spread it—just plop it right in the middle. If you want those pretty swirls, use a toothpick to gently swirl the cream cheese into the batter in a figure-eight motion. Just two or three swirls is plenty.
  9. Top with streusel. Take the streusel out of the fridge. Sprinkle it generously over each muffin, pressing down slightly so it sticks. Use all of it.
  10. Bake. Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. At 18 minutes, insert a toothpick into the muffin part (not the cream cheese center) and check if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The edges should be golden brown and the tops should look set.
  11. Cool. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Don’t overmix the batter. Room temperature ingredients matter. Watch your oven temperature. Let them cool completely before eating. For best results, bake one tray at a time if doubling.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin muffins, cream cheese muffins, fall recipe, streusel topping, easy muffins

Find it online: https://spoonmira.com/perfect-pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins-easy-fall-recipe/