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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. Similar to the Starbucks pumpkin muffin, but so much better. Promise, these muffins melt in your mouth. Soft pumpkin bread made with pumpkin butter, canned pumpkin, sweetened with maple syrup, spiced with warming chai, swirled with sweetened whipped cream cheese, and topped with sugared ginger pieces. Yummmmmy is all I can say! Enjoy these just as they are, or serve with a smear of sweet butter. Perfect for all of the autumn weekends ahead!
In all honesty, I am a few days earlier than I’d like with this recipe. But October 1st is Sunday, so we’re close enough to enjoy a few pumpkin recipes! Are we excited? I am very excited. I love pumpkin recipes just as much as you all, but I like to space them out, not overwhelm you all with everything pumpkin.
Plus, as I’ve shown, I adore apple recipes in the fall too. It’s not just pumpkin season!
But we’re happy pumpkin season is here. And you all – these muffins, I made them just this week and I had to share them today. These are so yummy and perfect. I’m so excited about them!
I’ve been brainstorming pumpkin recipes for what feels like months. To be honest, I feel like I’m always thinking about fall recipes. Between game day, Halloween, and the holidays, it’s such a busy time and we’re all cooking and baking so much!
Funny enough, the Starbucks fall menu is always a form of inspiration for me. They launch fun drinks and pastries that certainly get everyone excited. I can’t decide if I should make a latte this season, but I knew I wanted to make my own pumpkin muffin!
Here are the details
Step 1: make the batter
Per usual, this muffin is easy, and hopefully, you have most of these ingredients on hand. First, mix the wet ingredients. I use melted coconut, then either maple or honey to sweeten, vanilla, eggs, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin puree.
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’m partial to mine. Just make sure your pumpkin butter is spiced for best flavor.
For the dry ingredients, I use white whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Now mix the wet and dry ingredients.
Next, fold in some candied ginger pieces. These are my secret for this recipe. They’re SO good inside the muffin batter. They melt into the muffin whole while baking and make every bite sweet and gingery. So delish with the pumpkin.
Step 2: whip the cream cheese
Next up, whip the cream up with some maple or honey.
Now take a spoon and dollop the cream cheese into the center of each muffin. Certainly nothing fancy here. Don’t stress about making it perfect.
Step 3: mix the sugared ginger
The final step is the topping. Instead of an over-indulgent streusel topping, I did something so much easier and I think even more delicious.
I took candied ginger pieces, finely chopped them, and mixed the ginger with a small amount of cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle this mix over the muffins just before baking. It’s the perfect pairing with the warming chai-inspired spices within the muffin batter.
Step 4: bake away
As the muffins bake, your kitchen will smell incredible. Better than both a fall and Thanksgiving candle combined!
Is there anything more wonderful in the fall? Perfection.
Finally, serve these with tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or even a steaming mug of cider for the quintessential fall treat!
Looking for other sweet fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread
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 these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, 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!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories Per Serving: 249 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup pumpkin butter
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons candied ginger pieces
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Sugared Ginger Topping
- 1/4 cup candied ginger pieces
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.2. In a bowl, stir together the coconut oil, 1/2 cup maple/honey, vanilla, eggs, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in 2 tablespoons candied ginger. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan.3. In a bowl, whip together the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of maple/honey. Dollop 1 rounded teaspoon into the center of each muffin, pushing the cream halfway into the muffin, but not fully. 4. Mix 1/4 cup candied ginger and cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle over each muffin. Bake 18-20 minutes, until the tops are just set. Enjoy warm with butter (if desired).
I cannot even describe how delicious these muffins are!!! Such an interesting mix of ingredients that sound weird but EVERY SINGLE PERSON that tried these loved loved them! I have made 5 batches in one week! I made one batch of regular size muffins then the other 4 batches I made minis! Bite size of deliciousness! I will for sure makes this again for Thanksgiving. Froze the pumpkin butter already for next month! Thank you so much💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Thank you! So glad to hear you’re enjoying this recipe! xT
I’m making the recipe but don’t see the amount of cloves you ask for in the directions. Is it 1/8 teaspoon?
Hi Ann! Sorry about that! Yes, it’s 1/8 teaspoon! I’ll fix that now 🙂 xT
I can’t wait to try this but I was wondering if I could do a swap of the cream cheese for nutella? Do you think that would be okay?
Hi Anna! I haven’t ever tried this with nutella before so I can’t say for sure! xT
The muffin itself was good but the cream cheese in the middle did not taste good with it. Neither texture nor taste mixed well with the muffin.
Hi! I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
Do you have a brand of crystallized ginger that you prefer and where do you purchase it? Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes!
This is a good muffin recipe, but I have tried better pumpkin muffin recipes. They are too sweet for my preference.
Thanks for letting me know Brynne! xT
OMG! These are delicious. They are nothing like I’ve ever had before – not even close. Like you said, the ginger peices are key. Also, very easy. Brilliant.
Wow thank you so much Katie!!
I made these today and they are so delicious. I love how moist they are and the ginger bits really finish off the flavor nicely. I was pleasantly surprised that the cream cheese topping stayed so smooth and creamy. The candied ginger I bought was from Amazon. They are half inch cubes so they are easier to chop. I will be making this again!
I like this recipe a lot and have made it about 4 times recently. I did substitute out the ginger pieces for butterscotch chips, and I enjoyed that. I also made the cream cheese a little sweeter as it was a bit of a savory contrast otherwise. I plan to try a variation of this recipe with Cinna crunch topping like some of the bread recipes you have! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! How much clove do you use? I see it referenced in the instructions but not the ingredients.
Hi! These are delicious! Should they be refrigerated?
Hi there! Thank you so so much! I would refrigerate if you’re worried about the cream cheese! xT
Really delicious pumpkin muffin. I omitted the candied ginger, I couldn’t find any. The cream cheese I was skeptical about and wish I had also omitted. I don’t think it would detract from the flavor or moisture without it. I’ll try making again with the ginger and without the cream cheese. I also used whole wheat flour instead of white whole flour. They came out well. Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you Ethan! Glad you enjoyed these muffins! xT
My kids are going absolutely CRAZY over these muffins! They are so delicious and not too sweet.
So glad you and your family are enjoying the recipe!! Thank you!
Can I use gluten free flour with this recipe?
Hi Jessica! I haven’t ever tried this with GF flour! xT
Just making sure on the candied ginger pieces…the link shows sushi ginger. Is that what I should use? Or the dried crystallized ginger?
Thanks!
Do not use the sushi ginger! You are correct to use the dried crystallized ginger.
LOL!! Cooking with my one yr. old granddaughter underfoot (setting her up with bowls, spoons, and measuring cups on the floor), I forgot the pumpkin; it was even measured out. They still came out Delishious!!! I can’t wait to make them again with all the ingredients. A healthy choice and Mabel loved them! Thank you, Tieghan.
Love this!! Thanks so so much! xT
Hi there! Can i sub coconut oil for butter?
I always have trouble with the bottom of my muffins sticking to the paper liners. Do you have any recommendations for how to avoid this issue?
Hi, I’d love to make these tonight, but I only have whole wheat flour. Could I replace the white whole wheat flour with it? If so, would I still use 1 1/2 cups of flour?
If you sift your whole wheat flour well, you’ll get something that works similarly to white whole wheat.
Hi there! I haven’t tried these with whole wheat flour so I can’t say for sure! xT