Description
These Best Swirled Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins combine moist, spiced pumpkin batter with a luscious cream cheese swirl, creating a perfect balance of flavors and textures. Ideal for autumn breakfasts or snack times, these muffins are easy to make, featuring a delicious pumpkin spice blend and a creamy vanilla-infused cheese filling that bakes into beautiful swirls.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Muffin:
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, or melted and cooled butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Swirl:
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare muffin pan: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a muffin pan with paper baking cups and set it aside to get ready for the batter.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt until well combined. This ensures even distribution of the leavening and spices throughout the batter.
- Combine wet ingredients and sugars: In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, vegetable oil (or melted and cooled butter), and vanilla extract to form a smooth, homogenous mixture.
- Add flour mixture to wet ingredients: Slowly whisk the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined, avoiding lumps. Do not overmix to prevent tough muffins.
- Fill muffin tins: Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full to leave room for rising during baking.
- Prepare cream cheese swirl: In a medium bowl, beat the room temperature cream cheese until smooth. Add in the granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, and beat until the mixture is well combined and creamy.
- Add swirl topping: Top each filled muffin cup with about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Use a toothpick to swirl the cream cheese gently into the pumpkin batter to create a marbled effect. Alternatively, you can drop rounded spoonfuls of cream cheese in the center without swirling.
- Bake the muffins: Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the pumpkin part of the muffin; it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Cool and serve: Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing or serving.
Notes
- Storage: Store these pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They are best served at room temperature or slightly chilled; remove from fridge a few minutes before serving to warm.
- No Pumpkin Spice?: Create your own by mixing 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cloves, ½ tsp nutmeg, and ½ tsp allspice.
- Bake a loaf instead: Use this same batter recipe to bake a delicious pumpkin cream cheese bread in a loaf pan.
- Don’t over-mix: Mix the wet and dry ingredients gently until just combined to avoid tough or dry muffins caused by gluten overdevelopment.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 241 kcal
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 176 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.04 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 42 mg
