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Tender Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Easy Homemade Streusel Topping

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These tender pumpkin cream cheese muffins feature a luscious cream cheese swirl and a crunchy streusel topping, capturing the perfect balance of moist pumpkin and sweet spices for a cozy fall treat.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup (240ml) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (120ml) whole milk or buttermilk
  • 8 oz (225g) cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour (for streusel)
  • ⅓ cup (65g) light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • ⅓ cup (40g) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
  2. Make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine ½ cup flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Add cold, cubed butter and mix with fingers or pastry cutter until coarse crumbs form. Stir in nuts if using. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. Prepare the cream cheese filling: Beat together softened cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, egg yolk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
  4. Mix dry ingredients for muffins: In a large bowl, sift together 1 ¾ cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
  5. Combine wet ingredients: In another bowl, whisk melted butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
  6. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture, alternating with milk, starting and ending with dry. Fold gently until just combined; do not overmix.
  7. Assemble muffins: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup. Add 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling on top, then cover with another 2 tablespoons of batter. Swirl cream cheese gently with a toothpick.
  8. Sprinkle chilled streusel evenly over muffin tops.
  9. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Start checking at 20 minutes to avoid overbaking.
  10. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to prevent sogginess. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Keep the streusel cold until baking to maintain crumbly texture. Do not overmix batter to keep muffins tender. Softened cream cheese is key for smooth filling. Muffins are best served warm or at room temperature. Store in airtight container up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin muffins, cream cheese muffins, streusel topping, fall baking, autumn recipes, easy muffins, homemade muffins

Find it online: https://gleefulfork.com/tender-pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins-easy-homemade-streusel-topping-recipe/