Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

5 from 2 votes

Sep 30, 2022, Updated Aug 23, 2024

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Fall means the unofficial start of all things pumpkin – and nothing gets my kids up and excited on a cool, crisp fall morning like creamy, sweet, spiced pumpkin cream cheese muffins!

This easy method is simple enough to make the night before – or for a warm and cozy start to the day. I worked to simplify the steps for this deceptively easy muffin – there is no reason not to start your day with these muffins!

picture of pumpkin cream cheese muffin in a paper wrapper

Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.

At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins
Tips To Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and FAQs
Other Easy Muffins You’ll Love

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins

If you love mabled coffee cakes, or pumpkin danishes, you’re going to love these easy, delicious muffins that are loaded with pumpkin spice flavors and tons of rich, delicious cream cheese!

These pumpkin muffins are light, fluffy, and full of rich pumpkin and cream cheese flavor.

They are lightly sweet but not like a cupcake – perfect with coffee, hot cocoa, mulled cider, mulled beer, or with bacon!

We hope you love these delicious cream cheese filled muffins as much as we do!

How To Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

To make these muffins, we will need the following ingredients:

½ cup salted butter, softened: Adds richness and moisture to the muffins, contributing to a tender crumb.
½ cup packed light brown sugar: Provides a hint of caramel flavor and moisture.
½ cup granulated sugar: Sweetens the muffins, balancing the flavors.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile with a warm, sweet note.
½ cup buttermilk: Adds tanginess and helps activate the leavening agents, contributing to a lighter texture.
1 cup pumpkin puree: Imparts a moist texture and rich, earthy flavor, while also providing a beautiful orange color.
2 large eggs: Bind the ingredients together and contribute to the structure and rise of the muffins.
2 cups all-purpose flour: Forms the base of the muffin batter, providing structure.
½ teaspoon salt: Enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon: Adds a warm, aromatic spice that complements the pumpkin.
¼ teaspoon ground cloves: Provides a deep, warm spiciness that enhances the overall flavor.
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg: Adds a nutty and sweet spice note, balancing the other spices.
2 teaspoons baking powder: Helps the muffins rise and become fluffy.
½ teaspoon baking soda: Assists in leavening, reacting with the buttermilk to create a lighter texture.
Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened: Adds a rich, creamy texture to the filling, making it moist and decadent.
1/2 cup granulated sugar: Sweetens the cream cheese filling, balancing the tanginess.
1 large egg, room temperature: Helps to set the filling and bind the ingredients together.
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour: Stabilizes the filling and helps it set properly within the muffin.

picture of pumpkin cream cheese muffins on a table

picture of butter and sugar being mixed in a bowl

picture of pumpkin batter being mixed in a bowl

picture of cinnamon and flour being mixed in a bowl

picture of flour and pumpkin puree being mixed in a bowl

Once we gather our ingredients, we will use the following method, broken into easy steps:

Baking filled pumpkin muffins:

Prep. Preheat oven to 375°F and fill a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin, and two eggs. Whisk until well combined.
Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.
Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined – some lumps in the batter are okay.
Make filling. In a third bowl, use a hand beater to combine cream cheese filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.
Fill tin. Transfer the muffin batter to the muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full.

picture of pumpkin batter in a muffin tin

picture of a hand pressing a spoon into pumpkin batter in a muffin tin

picture of pumpkin batter in muffin tin with indents in the tops

picture of hand piping cream cheese into dents on tops of muffins

picture of muffins and cream cheese piped on top

picture of baked cream cheese pumpkin muffins in a muffin tin

Fill. Make a dip in the center top of each muffin to create a little “bowl” for the cream cheese filling. Use a piping bag or a spoon to fill the indentations in the muffins with the cream cheese filling. If you are using a piping bag, you can squeeze some of the filling down inside the muffin batter, too!
Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cream cheese filling is set (no longer wet) and a toothpick inserted in the muffin (cake part only) comes out with just a few crumbs.
Let cool. Cool the muffins for just a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.

picture of muffin in muffin wrapper cut in half

Tips To Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and FAQs

You won’t use all of the cream cheese filling – you can double the muffin ingredients or mix up just half of the cream cheese filling ingredients – please note that if you are halving the cream cheese filling recipe, you will need half of an egg. I recommend beating the egg first and then dividing the beaten egg mixture in half.

Milk can be substituted for the buttermilk – use whole milk if substituting for the added fat content. The buttermilk and pumpkin puree both give this muffin a lot of extra moisture.

Do not overstir the muffin batter once you have added the dry ingredients to the wet. This will make a tough muffin.

We remove the muffins from the muffin tin to finish cooling so that they do not continue to cook (aka dry out) in the hot muffin tin.

Measure the flour using the spoon and level method – stir the flour, spoon gently into the measuring cup and then use a flat knife to level off any excess from the top of the measuring cup – this helps prevent over-measuring the flour and keeps the muffins soft and moist. You can also sift the flour and then measure it out.

FAQs

How long can pumpkin cream cheese muffins be stored?

Muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

When are pumpkin cream cheese muffins done?

Since the cream cheese filling will throw off your toothpick test, you will need to look for browning around the edges and can stick a toothpick in the side, making sure to not touch cream cheese filling, to see when it comes out clean.

Do cream cheese filled muffins need to be refrigerated?

Since we’re using cream cheese in this recipe, it should be refrigerated if not consumed immediately.

Why are my pumpkin muffins gummy?

Muffin batter that is overmixed and overworked can be tough, dense, and have a chewy, gummy texture. Mix ingredients gently, until mixed, and don’t overwork to prevent gummy muffins.

What is the secret to moist muffins?

To make these muffins extra moist, we’re using a delicious cream cheese filling and tons of pureed pumpkin – however, in recipes without a filling, we like to swap butter for sour cream to keep a light, moist texture for muffins.