Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

5 from 13 votes

These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with streusel topping are sugar and spice and everything nice and then some. They are soft and rich and filled with a delightful cream cheese center - perfect for a Fall morning!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: -20 muffins

Calories: 302kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

For the filling:

8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 egg
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the muffins:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the streusel topping:

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons salted butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, egg, powdered sugar, and vanilla, just until combined. It should still be thick and overbeating makes it really soft. Drop tablespoonfuls of the cheesecake mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and stick them in the freezer for 20 minutes or so while working on the rest of the recipe.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line the cups in a muffin pan with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, then whisk together. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil and whisk together. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
For the streusel topping, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the cold butter into the sugar & flour until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Set aside.
Fill each muffin cup about half full with batter. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top of the muffin batter. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, covering the cream cheese completely. Top each muffin with the streusel mixture.
Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, then cool completely before serving.

Notes

Pumpkin Pie Spice: If you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand, just use ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon cloves, ½ teaspoon ginger, and ⅛ teaspoon allspice instead.
Try keeping the filling in the center of each muffin so it doesn't touch the sides if you can help it. Freezing the cream cheese mixture isn't 100% necessary, but it does help it not melt into the muffin quite as much when baking.
Storage: These muffins can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to about 5 days.
Freezing: Transfer the cooled muffins to a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to about 3 months for best results. Thaw overnight in the fridge, on the counter for about an hour, or pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so before eating.

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