Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Starbucks Copycat)
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My Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are, dare I say, better than Starbucks! They have a soft, moist crumb packed with rich pumpkin flavor and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and the perfect amount of sweetness.
One of the best things about this recipe, besides them being totally delicious, is that if you love my viral pumpkin bread recipe, you’ll love this recipe, too. The base of these muffins uses the same pumpkin bread recipe, and then the muffins are infused with the cream cheese mixture in the center.
The pumpkin bread recipe is too good, so I knew it would be great for these muffins. The recipe uses instant vanilla pudding to add extra moisture and create a soft, tender crumb. It’s just so perfect!
The luscious swirl of tangy cream cheese filling adds a creamy contrast to the spiced pumpkin muffin, it’s a match made in heaven. I’ve topped the muffins with a sprinkle of crunchy pumpkin seeds for texture, just like Starbucks does, and the result is a cozy, indulgent treat that’s ideal for fall mornings with coffee or tea. YUM X 100000!
You’ll also love my Starbucks Copycat Pumpkin Scones and Cranberry Bliss Bars!
Why this recipe works
- Because pumpkin rocks: It’s a quintessential fall flavor that feels cozy and comforting. Do I even need to go on?!
- Moist Texture: Starbucks’ muffins are known for their moist, tender crumb. In comparison with my homemade version, mine are more moist and more flavorful than the real deal!
- The cream cheese filling is perfection: it contrasts with the spiced sweetness of the pumpkin base, balancing richness with sweetness.
- Crunchy Pumpkin Seed Topping: The pumpkin seed topping adds a slight crunch to the muffins and a bit of visual appeal, making them look as good as they taste. NOM!
Ingredient Notes
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
- Eggs: the eggs add structure to the muffins.
- Pumpkin: be sure to use 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Oil and butter: I like using a combination of oil and butter for a rich flavor and best texture. Canola oil, vegetable oil, or any neutral-flavored oil works well.
- Sugars: I like using a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar. A little bit of brown sugar adds a hint of molasses flavor and more moisture.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: I feel like these two spices are enough, but feel free to experiment and add cloves, allspice, ginger, cardamom, or even pre-made pumpkin pie spice.
- Vanilla pudding mix: my secret ingredient! It adds extra moisture and a soft, tender crumb to the muffins. Make sure to use the instant version, as the cook-and-serve type won’t yield the same results.
- Baking soda and baking powder: These leavening agents help the muffins rise.
- Cream cheese filling: you’ll need softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, flour, milk, and salt.
- Pumpkin seeds: for decorating the muffins just like Starbucks!
Step by Step Directions
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Make the batter
Using my viral pumpkin bread recipe! Easy peasy! Doesn’t get better than this!
Cream cheese filling
Mix all ingredients together until smooth, and add to a piping bag or a ziplock baggie and cut the corner tip off.
Scoop & Fill!
Scoop muffin batter into prepared muffin tin. Squeeze some of the cream cheese filling in the center of each muffin and decorate the sides with pumpkin seeds.
Bake, cool, and enjoy!
You’re welcome.
Success Tips and Variations
- Feel free to swirl the cream cheese in the muffins, instead of the dollop in the middle.
- You can leave the pumpkin seeds off if you’d like, but they make the muffins look really pretty and offer that nice textural contrast.
- Leave the cream cheese filling out if you just want a pure pumpkin muffin.
- Use pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin pie filling, to control the flavor and sweetness.
- Bring ingredients like your eggs and cream cheese to room temperature before mixing. This ensures a smoother, more even batter and filling.
- Fill each muffin liner pretty much all the way to the top with batter. Filling them up, as opposed to just half way, will give your muffins the bakery style look.
- Adding pumpkin seeds on top before baking adds texture and an authentic Starbucks touch. Lightly press them into the batter so they stick while baking.
Storage
- Room temperature: store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to sit out on the counter for a few minutes before enjoying. Due to the cream cheese filling, I wouldn’t keep them at room temperature.
- Freezer: I like these muffins fresh, but if you do want to freeze them, allow to cool completely, and freeze in an air-tight baggie for up to 3 months.
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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
For the muffin batter
- 1 recipe pumpkin bread
For the cream cheese frosting
- 6 oz. full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. whole milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- pinch of salt
- For finishing: salted pumpkin seeds or pumpkin seeds of choice (you can chop them up a little, I usually just keep them whole.)
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12 count muffin tin with orange colored muffin liners (this recipe make 16 muffins, so if you have another small 6 count muffin tin, line that too, or just wait until the first batch is done and then fill the same tin again). Set aside.
- Make the pumpkin batter from this recipe.1 recipe pumpkin bread
- To make the cream cheese filling, beat all ingredients until smooth with a hand mixer. Transfer mixture into a piping bag (I used a circular tip) or you can trasnfer to a ziplock baggie and cut the corner tip off.6 oz. full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour, 1 Tbsp. whole milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, pinch of salt
- Scoop the batter into each muffin tin, filling pretty much all the way to the top. The higher you fill them, the more of the domed muffin top they’ll have.
- Squeeze some of the cream cheese filling in the center of each muffin, being sure to leave a dollop on top of each muffin, too! Repeat with remaining muffins.
- Sprinkle pumpkin seeds around the perimeter of the batter.For finishing: salted pumpkin seeds or pumpkin seeds of choice
- Bake for ~25-30 minutes Start Timer. or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs are okay but it shouldn’t be goopy or overly wet.
- Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Room temperature: store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to sit out on the counter for a few minutes before enjoying. Due to the cream cheese filling, I wouldn’t keep them at room temperature.
- Freezer: I like these muffins fresh, but if you do want to freeze them, allow to cool completely, and freeze in an air-tight baggie for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
These looked so good…and tasted great too. I chose not to add pumpkin seeds. Yummm!! Thank-you!
These are delicious and way better than Starbucks! Recipe was very easy to follow and the only thing I didn’t have on hand that I had to run out for was the sunflower seeds. Another home run for Tawny!
so happy you made them, tank you Pamela!