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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin cream cheese muffins with a tender pumpkin crumb, a creamy cheesecake center, and a cinnamon streusel topping. Baked at 375°F for 20–24 minutes until the muffin portion is set and golden on top.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Total Time 44 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Pumpkin Muffins
  • 1.75 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 salt
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 large eggs
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Filling
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Streusel Topping
  • 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.3333 cup light brown sugar
  • 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and make the pumpkin batter
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
  2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves in a medium bowl.
  3. Beat the eggs, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar until smooth, then mix in the vegetable oil, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract.
  4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined, stopping to avoid overmixing.
Make the cream cheese filling and streusel
  1. Beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
  2. Stir together the all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, and ground cinnamon for the streusel, then cut in the cold unsalted butter until coarse crumbs form.
Assemble and bake
  1. Fill each muffin liner halfway with pumpkin batter.
  2. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling into the center of each muffin, then cover with additional pumpkin batter until the cups are about 3/4 full.
  3. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over each muffin.
  4. Bake at 375°F for 20–24 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the muffin portion comes out clean.
  5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Pro tip: don’t overmix the pumpkin batter—stop as soon as you don’t see dry flour for a tender crumb. Store muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days; rewarm briefly in the microwave. Freeze up to 2 months for best texture. If you want a lighter option, use low-fat cream cheese for the filling (swap one-to-one) without changing the bake time.