Pumpkin season is in full swing and I am here for it! These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are soft and fluffy, perfectly spiced and swirled with lightly sweetened cream cheese that melts right into the top as they bake.

It’s the season for ALL things pumpkin! These are one of the first things I bake every Fall. I first started making these muffins in my early married years when we lived in Minneapolis. I used to take them to our church Fall festivals and bonfires and they were always a huge hit! You know that feeling when you take a bite from a certain food and it transports you back to a past memory? That’s this recipe right here! All the warm and fuzzy feels. So if you are a fan of cream cheese and pumpkin, you have to make these. I promise it will be your new favorite muffin! 

If you can’t eat them all in a few days, they freeze beautifully. We passed the stocking-the-freezer-with-homemade-goods a while ago. HA! My youngest absolutely goes crazy for these muffins (he’s a cream cheese nut like his mother) so they never make it to our freezer and that’s okay!! You can also just store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. If you do freeze them, just make sure they’re completely cooled before putting them in an airtight container, thaw in the refrigerator overnight as needed, and keep refrigerated after that. You can store in the freezer for up to six months.

Hope you give these a try! Skip the coffee shop and enjoy them at home. 😉

Yield: 18 muffins

INGREDIENTS

MUFFINS

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15 oz pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup oil (this is what I use Bertolli Light Tasting Olive Oil but vegetable oil works, too)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

CREAM CHEESE SWIRL

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin pan with 18 paper liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Do not over mix. Only mix until no pockets of the dry ingredients remain.
5. Divide the batter equally into the lined muffin pan, filling tins ¾ full.
6. Using an electric mixer in a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth.
7. Top each muffin with about a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter.
8. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool the muffins in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a cooling rack. Best served slightly warm.

Adapted from The Novice Chef