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Cozy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusel

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Velvety cream cheese swirls nestled inside tender pumpkin muffins, topped with a crumbly brown sugar streusel that crackles under your fingertips. These muffins offer a perfect balance of creamy and crumbly textures with warm fall spices.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour (or almond flour for gluten-free)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (240ml) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup (80ml) milk or plant-based milk (almond milk works well)
  • 8 oz (225g) cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar (for cream cheese filling)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for cream cheese filling)
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ cup (65g) all-purpose flour (for streusel)
  • ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed (for streusel)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for streusel)
  • Pinch of salt (for streusel)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well.
  2. Make the brown sugar streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine ½ cup flour, ½ cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Add the cold, cubed butter. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse sand. Set aside.
  3. Prepare the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, beat 8 oz softened cream cheese with ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 egg yolk until smooth and creamy. Avoid overbeating.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients for the muffin batter: In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
  5. Combine the wet ingredients: In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk until well blended.
  6. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined; a few lumps are okay.
  7. Fill muffin cups halfway with pumpkin batter. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling into the center of each muffin. Top with more pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese, filling each cup about ¾ full.
  8. Sprinkle the brown sugar streusel generously over each muffin.
  9. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick inserted near the edge; it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Muffins should spring back lightly when touched.
  10. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to keep the streusel crisp.

Notes

Use room temperature ingredients for best results. Do not overmix the batter to keep muffins tender. Chill the cream cheese filling before assembling to prevent oozing. If streusel browns too quickly, tent with foil after 15 minutes. Muffins are best enjoyed warm or at room temperature. Store in airtight container up to 2 days at room temp, refrigerate up to 5 days, or freeze up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin muffins, cream cheese muffins, brown sugar streusel, fall baking, cozy muffins, autumn recipes, easy pumpkin recipe

Find it online: https://realityeats.com/cozy-pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins-with-brown-sugar-streusel-easy-recipe/