Before I get too far into it: yes, this recipe was inspired by the legendary Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Here is my attempt at a copycat recipe, if you wanna call it that… But let’s hope that you will find these to be even better: made at home, wildly delicious, and totally worth making again.

Can I use my own pumpkin puree for this recipe?

Yes, and again I will say, YES. Homemade is always better in my opinion! If you don’t know how to make your own, check out this tutorial for directions!

Do I need to use the tulip liners, or can I use regular muffin liners?

The tulip liners just accommodate slightly larger muffins, and they are pretty. Regular ones work just fine, although you might get more than 12 muffins out of this recipe if you make them that way! Honestly, you could make these with no liner at all (just greased or silicone muffin tins), but I would only recommend that if you do have a silicone pan to get the muffins out easily.

What is pumpkin spice?

Pumpkin spice, or “Pumpkin pie spice” is the name of a spice mixture usually comprised of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. Pumpkin spice is also a pretty common flavour description for recipes like this one, featuring pumpkin and some of those commonly used spices for making pumpkin pie.

How to make great muffins

There are a few things I’ve learned about making muffins over the years that you might find helpful. Here are my top 3 tips for muffins in general, with an extra tip for this recipe in particular:

1. Don’t over-mix the batter.
   Over mixing the muffin batter will cause the gluten in the flour to develop more and more, resulting in a denser, more spongey textured muffin. If you want a soft crumb, try to only mix the batter until it just combined.
2. Generously fill the muffin cups.
   Personally I love making muffins that are bakery-style tall and large. In order to achieve this, you need a pretty thick muffin batter (like this one), and you need to fill the muffin liners generously so that they can puff up into nice, high domes. Just note that you may have to add an extra 5 minutes or so to the recommended baking time if you make the muffins larger than your recipe recommends).
3. Don’t over-bake the muffins. I’ve made this mistake plenty of times, and it always results in muffins that dry out too quickly! To keep your muffins moist, make sure to remove them from the oven as soon as the toothpick test comes out clean. Also, know your oven! If your oven tends to bake hotter than most, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees before baking.
4. For this recipe, keep in mind that the filling will appear to expand as it bakes. As the muffin batter expands underneath the cream cheese topping on these muffins (and as the cream cheese mixture heats), the topping will appear to spread over the surface of the muffin. So, don’t make your cheesecake topping wider than a quarter size on top of each muffin, or else it will likely cover the entire surface!

How to make cheesecake filling for muffins

The cream cheese topping for these muffins is one of the simplest recipes ever – which, coincidentally, can be used for a lot more than just muffins! It is made with softened cream cheese, cream, sugar, and vanilla. This mixture is then piped into the surface of the muffins before they are baked.

Check out my recipe for Cream Cheese Filling to see how to use this magical mixture for other purposes as well!

When to make pumpkin cream cheese muffins

These muffins are incredible to make any time during the fall/winter months. I love to make these as a great breakfast or brunch addition, or as a mid-afternoon snack to have with a cup of tea or coffee.

How to store pumpkin cream cheese muffins

These muffins can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days, but due to the cream cheese mixture in the centre my preference (for immediate use) is to store them in the refrigerator. For longer term storage, keep them in a sealed freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Serving perfect muffins

These muffins are great served at room temperature, but they are also so delicious served warm. Heat these muffins for about 20 seconds in the microwave, or if you want to, you can throw them straight out of the freezer into the oven at 350 degrees F for 5-8 minutes, just to warm them up. Serve re-warmed muffins immediately.

What will I need to make these muffins?

Aside from your basic ingredients, just a standard outfitted kitchen with the following equipment:

• Ingredients (see recipe card)
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Muffin tins (silicone or regular)
• Tulip liners (or other muffin liners)
• A large spoon or cookie scoop, for dividing the batter
• Cooling rack

Print

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These are soft, delicious pumpkin spice muffins topped with smooth cream cheese and pumpkin seeds. Perfect for the entire fall/winter season.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword cheesecake, pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. butter melted
• 1 c. pumpkin puree
• 1/3 c. water
• 6 Tbsp pumpkin seeds optional

Cream Cheese Topping:

• 1/2 brick cream cheese (4oz)
• 2-1/2 Tbsp icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line 12 muffin cups with cupcake or tulip muffins liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Make a well in the centre and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, brown sugar, melted butter, pumpkin puree and water. Whisk to combine, and pour this into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dry and wet ingredients are just combined and moistened (do not overmix). Divide into prepared muffins cups. Sprinkle generously with pumpkin seeds.

4. In a medium sized mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla and whipping cream and and whip until thick and fluffy.

5. Spoon the cream cheese filling into a piping bag or the corner of a ziploc bag. Snip the top or corner of the bag off with scissors, and pipe a little bit of the cream cheese mixture down into the batter of each muffin, finishing on top with about a nickel or quarter sized dollop of cream cheese in the centre of each.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the largest muffin comes out clean (test the baked muffin, not the cream cheese). Cool on wire racks.

I have been wanting to make these for years, and I finally did it! I’m happy to finally share them with you.

Other great muffin recipes:

• Banana Bran Muffins
• Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins
• Cranberry Bran Muffins
• Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’ll close by asking, what’s your favourite pumpkin spice treat? Let me know in the comments!

Also, as always, if you make these muffins, please tag me in your photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial! I’d love to see how yours came out!

Happy baking!

Naomi

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