Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are soft, moist and perfectly spiced! They come together in one bowl in under 35 minutes. An easy vanilla cream cheese filling is baked right into the middle and tastes even better than Starbucks!

This is a super soft, moist pumpkin cream cheese muffin like Starbucks but without the artificial flavorings and preservatives. Cream cheese has an absolutely exquisite tanginess to it which adds a lovely balance, just like it does in my soft batch cream cheese chocolate chip cookies!

This is an easy muffin recipe that comes together in one bowl with a whisk! You could certainly swirl the cream cheese into the batter like I did with this Nutella banana bread or bake it in a loaf like this moist pumpkin bread. You could also try my healthy pumpkin muffins to mix it up.

Professional Tips for Making Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins like Starbucks

• Mix just right. The biggest mistake people make is over-mixing their muffin batter. Just because you can mix it all with a whisk, doesn’t mean you should. Over-mixing leads to too much gluten development, which can correspondingly make muffins tough. I always fold in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula.
• Use a cookie scoop to portion. In this recipe I use a large cookie scoop to fill the muffin tins with batter and a small scoop to dollop on the cream cheese filling. This ensures a nice even shape and distribution!
• Uses oil for an extra moist muffin. The recipe calls for vegetable oil but you could also use melted coconut oil. The oil and pumpkin combined with brown sugar make for an incredibly moist muffin.
• Don’t overfilling the muffin tins. Only fill the tins or liners ¾ full or they will overflow. The weight of the filling will press the batter out and over the edges. It isn’t catastrophic but they will be less pretty than those properly filled.

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Ingredients Needed

• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to hold all the sugar, oil and peaches without making a chewy, tough muffin.
• Baking Soda: Do check the freshness of your baking soda! It does lose potency over time. If it’s not fresh, send it to the back of the refrigerator to absorb some odors, or clean your marble countertops with it!
• Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder will react instantly when it is mixed with an acid and then again when it is heated. Because it is double acting, it has a slower, more stable rise than baking soda alone.
• Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is lass salty than table salt and a teaspoon weighs less than other finer ground varieties. It heightens the flavor here and will keep your pastries from tasting dull or flat.
• Spices: The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of my pumpkin spice recipe, but I have also included individual spice measurements in the Notes of the Recipe Card below.
• Vegetable Oil: Vegetable Oil makes these muffins exceptionally moist. It emulsifies into the sugar and eggs to make the batter extra moist. You can also use melted coconut oil.
• Eggs: Whole eggs allow you to emulsify all that oil into the batter, resulting in moist, not greasy, pumpkin muffins.
• Light Brown Sugar: Using light brown sugar adds sweetness along with a little moisture. This will keep the pumpkin muffins softer while adding a nice, rich molasses flavor. Coconut sugar or dark brown sugar can be substituted if desired.
• Sugar: There is a significant amount of granulated sugar in this recipe. It is part of what makes the crumb so tender and light and makes these muffins taste like Starbucks.
• Pumpkin Puree: I use Libby’s pumpkin puree because it is what I use to develop all my recipes. Use whichever brand you prefer. Just be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix! It is not my preference to use homemade pumpkin puree due to the varying moisture content. Too much moisture will make the muffins rather gummy.
• Cream Cheese: I use Philadelphia’s cream cheese in this recipe. For the best texture use full fat cream cheese and not low fat or whipped.
• Vanilla Extract: The vanilla extract in the cream cheese filling makes it taste like cheesecake!  

Possible Variations

• Add a crumble. Add the crumble topping from this pumpkin coffee cake for a sweet, spiced topping, or make this easy brown sugar streusel topping recipe!
• Bake into loaf pans. This same recipe will yield two loaves of pumpkin bread. Perhaps consider making 1.5x the cream cheese filling recipe for a more substantial swirl.
• Swirl the cream cheese filling. Swirl the cheese cake filling into the batter for a different effect.  

Possible Substitutions

• Use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil: These muffins are also phenomenal with melted coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil. It will still be moist, flavorful and you won’t taste the coconut. 
• Full-fat cream cheese is best.  For the best texture, use full fat cream cheese and not low fat or whipped. The fat helps the cream cheese stand up to baking and filling made with full-fat will be markedly thicker and smoother.
• You can use homemade pumpkin puree. You can substitute homemade pumpkin puree, just be sure to let it drain overnight to remove any excess moisture. It should be paste-like without standing water. 

How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Use these instructions to make pumpkin cream cheese muffins like Starbucks! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin tins with liners.

Step 2: In a medium bowl beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth and then add vanilla. This can also be done easily by hand if the cream cheese is slightly softened.

Step 3: Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice in a medium bowl. Whisk to incorporate, set aside.

Step 4:  In a large bowl whisk together light brown sugar, sugar, oil, and eggs. Whisk in puree.

Step 5: Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Step 6: Scoop or spoon muffin batter between the prepared liners. Using a small cookie scoop (about an inch wide), scoop cream cheese mixture into the center of each and press down slightly.

Step 7: Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few clinging crumbs or they spring back lightly to the touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed muffin recipes or dive into more pumpkin with 10 Easy Pumpkin Recipes you must make this Fall!