Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Moist, warmly spiced pumpkin muffins with a cool cheesecake pocket hidden in the center. A better-than-Starbucks copycat that's easy to make at home.
Servings 12 muffins
Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Muffins
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge while you make the batter.
Make the Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Spoon a little batter into each liner, about a third of the way up. Add a rounded spoonful of the chilled cream cheese filling to the center, then cover with the remaining batter so the filling is tucked inside.
- Bake at 425F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce to 350F and bake another 13 to 16 minutes, until the pumpkin springs back and a toothpick in the muffin edge comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Notes
- Chill the filling: A cold, firm dollop holds its shape in the center instead of melting away.
- Dollop, don't overfill: A rounded spoonful is plenty. Too much and it leaks out the top.
- Storage: Because of the cream cheese, keep these in the fridge up to 5 days, or freeze up to 3 months.