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Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins: Easy Fall Recipe

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These pumpkin cream cheese muffins with streusel topping are tender, moist, and filled with a tangy cream cheese center. The buttery streusel adds a perfect crunch, making them an irresistible fall treat.

Ingredients

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  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar (for filling)
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (for filling)
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar (for streusel)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease the cups well. Set aside.
  2. Make the cream cheese filling first. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with ¼ cup granulated sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, then beat until fully combined. Transfer the filling to a piping bag or a zip-top bag and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. After piping the filling into the bag, lay it flat in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm it up.
  3. Prepare the streusel topping. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Add the cold, cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Refrigerate the streusel while you make the batter.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon cloves, and ½ teaspoon salt.
  5. Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 1 cup pumpkin puree, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and glossy.
  6. Fold the wet into the dry. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine.
  7. Fill the muffin cups. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup, filling them about one-third full. Smooth the tops slightly with the back of the spoon.
  8. Add the cream cheese filling. Snip the corner of your piping bag or zip-top bag and pipe about 1 tablespoon of the chilled cream cheese mixture into the center of each muffin cup, directly on top of the batter.
  9. Top with remaining batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the cream cheese filling, dividing it evenly among the 12 cups. The cups should be about three-quarters full. Use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to gently spread the batter to cover the filling completely.
  10. Add the streusel. Sprinkle the cold streusel generously over each muffin, pressing it lightly into the batter so it sticks.
  11. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin part (not the cream cheese center) comes out clean. The tops should be golden brown and the streusel should look crunchy and caramelized. If the streusel is browning too quickly, tent the pan loosely with foil for the last 5 minutes.
  12. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

For best results, freeze the piped cream cheese filling for 10 minutes before adding to the batter to prevent sinking. Use room temperature eggs for a smooth batter. Measure flour by spooning and leveling to avoid dense muffins. Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even browning. Let muffins cool completely before storing to keep streusel crunchy.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin muffins, cream cheese muffins, fall recipe, streusel topping, pumpkin cream cheese muffins

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