Name: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I used 2 tsps); 1/4 tsp salt; 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree; 1 egg; 1/4 cup melted butter, cooled; 1 tsp vanilla extract; Cream Cheese Filling:; 4 oz cream cheese, softened; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp all purpose flour; 1 tsp milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

9 steps

Into a bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, egg, butter and vanilla extract until everything is well combined.
Add in the dry ingredients. Give everything a quick mix, but don't over-mix.
Grab your muffin pan, line it with paper cupcake liners or, if you don't have any, spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Fill up each liner with the pumpkin batter 3/4 of the way.
Make the cream cheese filling. Mix all of the ingredients together until smooth.
Place the filling into a piping bag.
Squeeze out about a tablespoon's worth of cream cheese into each muffin.
If you want your muffins to have a dollop of cream cheese on the top, pipe a small amount on top.
Into the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I left mine in for the full 20 minutes.

Recipe notes

Helpful tips

The source suggests doubling the cream cheese filling if you are a big fan of cream cheese.
For a more pronounced cream cheese top, pipe a small amount on top of each muffin before baking.
The source notes that the Starbucks version has chopped spiced pepita seeds on top, but they are optional.