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Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread. Better than you could get at any coffee shop, this bread melts in your mouth. Doughy pumpkin bread made with pumpkin butter, sweetened with maple syrup, swirled with cream cheese, topped with sweet cinnamon sugar, and served warm. Best enjoyed warm, right out of the oven with a generous smear of salted honey butter. Perfect for all of the autumn weekends ahead!
Well, I said it yesterday, but it’s October, so bring on all those pumpkin recipes. And today, we’ve got something sweet!
Before I began cooking and baking, I wasn’t someone who looked forward to pumpkin anything. I grew up in a household where dessert wasn’t dessert if chocolate wasn’t involved. And in a way, I still kind of think like that. But these days I’m able to embrace non-chocolate sweets as well.
Of course, I enjoy them as more of a “snack”. Either way, I can now say that I really do look forward to things like pumpkin bread in the fall.
What makes this pumpkin bread so special?
I’ve made pumpkin bread in the past. The first time was more of a banana pumpkin bread. Then last year I did a sweet chocolate chip pumpkin bread. This year, however, it was my goal to create a pumpkin bread recipe that was more of a classic. One that I’d make again and again all season long.
Of course, I wanted this bread to be a little more special than all the others out there. So I used spiced pumpkin butter, not just pumpkin purèe. This IS KEY. Pumpkin butter is more reduced down than pumpkin purèe and contains less moisture.
You can use my homemade pumpkin butter. Or pick some up at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Amazon, or your local market…though I am partial to mine. Just make sure your pumpkin butter is spiced for best flavor.
Now, let’s bake some pumpkin butter bread
This is all made in one bowl. You’ll mix the wet ingredients with the dry and that’s it. I used maple syrup as the sweetener. Mostly because I LOVE the warming flavor it adds to baked goods this time of year. The coconut oil keeps the bread doughy, and a touch of pumpkin pie spice adds in all the cozy flavors.
Divide the batter between two bread pans, swirl in the cream cheese, then finish each loaf with a light sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. If you don’t love cream cheese, you can omit it, but I think it works well with the fall flavors.
As the bread bakes, oh my gosh, your kitchen will smell incredible. Better than a fall and Thanksgiving candle combined.
While the bread bakes, makes the honey butter
Since I love to enjoy this bread warm, I needed a sweet butter to melt over each piece of fresh pumpkin bread.
A salty honey butter is always so good. It melts deliciously into every nook and cranny of the bread.
Of course, it’s not needed, but it sure makes every warm bite just that more delicious.
So how about some Tuesday evening pumpkin bread on a crisp October night? Promise it’s a good idea.
Looking for other pumpkin recipes? Here are a few ideas:
6 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Butter
Cream Cheese Swirled Brown Sugar Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Chai Pumpkin Cake with Maple Browned Butter Frosting
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cinnamon Swirl Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Butter Bread
Lastly, if you make this Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread
Servings: 16 2 loaves
Calories Per Serving: 311 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin butter (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (use 3/4 cup for a sweeter loaf)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese, melted
- 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
Honey Butter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter 2 (9×5 inch) bread pans.2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin butter, pumpkin, coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, mix until just combined. Divide half the batter evenly between the prepared bread pans.3. Spoon teaspoon size amounts of the cream cheese over the batter, using 4 ounces of cream cheese per bread pan. Gently swirl the cream cheese using a sharp paring knife. Sprinkle 2-4 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar over each pan, then evenly spoon the remaining batter over each bread pan, it's OK if all the cream cheese is not covered. Sprinkle 2-4 tablespoons cinnamon sugar over each pan. 4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the center is just set.5. Meanwhile, make the honey butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey, and a pinch of salt.6. Remove the bread and let cool, or enjoy warm with extra honey butter.
Love this recipe! My favorite part was the cinnamon sugar topping that gave the bread a sweet crunchy crust. Perfect balance for the tartness of the cream cheese. Will make this over and over!
Hey Stacy,
Fantastic! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review:) xx
Second time making these. So delicious. Can they be frozen?
Hey Lena,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Yes, you can totally do that! xxTieghan
Love this recipe. Not too sweet and I loved the texture of the bread. Somehow it’s doughy and fluffy at the same time. I took the one recipe and made four smaller loaves and I’m giving them as gifts. I’m not sure how to store them. In the fridge? On the counter?
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. You can store in an airtight container on the counter. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan
I made half in mini loaf pans and half in a bread tin. Swirling cream cheese proved difficult despite being on the counter for hours. The result was great texture but lacking in flavor. I bumped up spices but my guess is the pumpkin butter is what you are counting on for flavor. I used more pumpkin because less than half a can seemed wasteful to leave unused.
Hey Laura,
So sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the recipe, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
The flavor is amazinggggg oh my gosh
Even tho my loaf seems moister than the one you made, it tastes divine. Not sure is it because I used paleo flour to make these, the texture is chewy and doughy,l
Hi Kristie,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
This recipe was great! Wasn’t super sweet, which was perfect because it’s a bread and not a cake. I actually found it to be even better the next day as it moistened overnight. Thanks for another great one Tieghen!
Hi Emily,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
WOW! I take pumpkin bread very seriously and this is 1000% a keeper.
I read the comments as I started mixing the ingredients so I was a bit nervous about the texture and sweetness level but I was SO happy with how it turned out. I’ll be making this every year from now on! This is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe I’ve ever made.
I would not consider pumpkin bread a dessert, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this recipe isn’t for you. This would be a perfect breakfast or snacking bread to enjoy with some coffee. It’s not too sweet but the flavors are incredible. I did make some tweaks as I was making this that I will probably do again.
I wasn’t able to find pumpkin butter so I used apple butter instead. I also added a bit of brown sugar (about a quarter cup along with some extra cinnamon). For the pumpkin pie spice I made these HEAPING teaspoons, and for the cream cheese, I think next time I’d actually mix this with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture before dropping into the batter. The cinnamon sugar that the recipe recommends to add on top is also incredible as it makes a bit of a crust, so definitely don’t sleep on this step! Friendly reminder that this recipe makes two loafs.
Thank you Tieghan for this gem!!
Hi Emily,
I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
I usually love all of these recipes but the pumpkin bread was very dense, the cream cheese tasted bitter, and the bread was not sweet enough. Would skip this one!
Hey Zoe,
So sorry this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
So good! Everyone loved it! Will definitely make it again (and again)! Thanks so much for another great recipe!
Hey Sue,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Have a great Saturday! xTieghan
Oh yum. Made it this morning and took my first bite just now. Absolutely delicious. I used 3/4 cup of Crown Maple Syrup Bourbon Barrel Aged and it gave it the perfect amount of sweetness for me. The texture, density, cream cheese, and pumpkin pie spiciness was also perfect IMO. It didn’t rise up as high as in your pictures but I attribute that to the baking powder being just past it’s it prime. I’ll be making this again and again. Another triumph, Tieghan!
Hey Susan,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Have a great Saturday! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it turned out exactly as it should, I really like that it’s not overly sweet, it’s moist and soft. The pumpkin butter recipe was so easy and now I have extra Pumkin butter for the season. The honey butter is also a great addition if you do want to sweeten it up more.
Hey there,
Happy Friday!! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend. xTieghan
can I make ahead & freeze?
Hi Michele,
Yes, that would be fine to do. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Here are some changes I made after looking through the comments:
– I added 1/8 cup of granulated sugar to batter (next time, I would add an additional teaspoon of pumpkin spice or cinnimon)
– I put all the batter into ONE pan for 60 minutes! It raised perfectly in the oven.
– I put about 5 oz of melted cream cheese on top and generously applied cinnamon sugar. I then took a rubber spatula and pulled up batter from underneath the top to cover the cheese and sugar. I then applied some more cinnamon sugar on top before putting in the oven.
– One it’s own, the bread isn’t super sweet, so the honey butter and additional cinnamon on top is mandatory.
Doing all these things made it overall very good!
Tieghan, I think the 3rd step is a little confusing because in step two it says to put the batter into 2 pans but in step 3 it says to spoon “remaining batter over each bread pan.” So it’s unclear where the extra batter comes from. Still, the recipe turned out great for me!!
Hey Haley,
I am thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try. Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. I hope you have an amazing week! xTieghan
This bread came out so moist and delicious! My only issue was that I wasn’t 100% sure how to make the swirling feature pictured, even after following the directions to be gentle with the paring knife. It seemed that all the cream cheese was concentrated at the top.
Hey Mady,
I am thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try. If you warm the cream cheese it should be easier to swirl. I hope you have an amazing week! xTieghan
Well I tried. Tastes phenomenal but I erred somewhere as it’s rather flat and so not done. Oh well, I’ll keep trying as it does taste good.
Oh no I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything you did differently? xTieghan
The flavors are good. I dont agree with some of the comments around that. But, after baking this according to directions, I do agree it’s dense and stodgy. It was hard to tell if it was underbaked or just wrong. I ended up baking it for much longer than suggested, but unfortunately that didn’t change anything in terms of consistency.
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out the way you hoped! xTieghan