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Would you like to know something I loathe? It’s when muffins or cupcakes are too small. And, no, I’m not talking about mini muffins because those are mini for a purpose. They hold their own little place in the land of dessert. I’m talking about muffins that are supposed to be actual full-size muffins but just fall short. Like someone didn’t put enough batter in the cupcake liners and now we all have to suffer through eating this puny baked good.
I especially loathe paying money for such a confection. Call me frugal, but if I’m going to pay 2 dollars and something cents for a specialty muffin or cupcake (aside from when it’s at a bake sale or fundraiser), it better be ginormous and spectacular. It shouldn’t be all common and little. Otherwise, I’d prefer to head home and whip up my own batch so I could guarantee they’d taste awesome and be the proper size of huge.
I promise that once you make these pumpkin streusel muffins at home, you’ll never buy another bakery muffin again. These beauties are full of fall flavors and have that perfect amount of sweetness. And, you can make them as big (yay!) or small (boo!) as you want. These muffins are our favorite fall treat and I have been making them every October for a couple of years now. After just one bite, I feel a pumpkin baking binge coming on strong.
It all starts with the batter filled with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. (Based on these ingredients, you know your house is going to smell absolutely amazing when these muffins are in the oven.) The batter is light and moist, and the muffins baked up with a very fluffy crumb. Next, is a sweet cream cheese filling, a simple combination of powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla. Think of this as a surprise burst of creamy sugar. I love a good surprise in my muffin, but even more when that surprise helps keep the muffin moist.
Finally, there’s that cinnamon-sugar streusel topping. Doesn’t everything just taste better with streusel? Those little orbs of cinnamon, sugar and butter provide a needed crunch factor to these muffins, plus add yet another layer of flavor. Ironically, even though each component of the muffin contains some form of sugar, they really aren’t overly sweet. The pumpkin and spices provide a great balance of savory flavors. All you need now is a tall glass of milk and a hungry stomach. Let the pumpkin baking binge begin!
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Print recipe
| Serves | 16 |
| Prep time | 1 hour, 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 25 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour, 45 minutes |
| Meal type | Breakfast, Dessert, Snack |
| Website | Ezra Pound Cake |
Ingredients
Filling
- 8oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Streusel
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Muffin
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup solid pack pumpkin
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanillla extract
Directions
| Filling | |
| 1. | In a mixing bowl, combnine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll mixture into a log shape. Place in freezer for one hour. |
| Streusel | |
| 2. | In a small bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Use a fork to combine all ingredients. Mixture should form small wet clumps after being thoroughly mixed. |
| Muffin Batter | |
| 3. | In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. |
| 4. | In another bowl, add pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir to combine all ingredients. |
| 5. | Make a large well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the well. Stir with a wooden spoon just until all ingredients are combine. Set aside. |
| 6. | Once cream cheese has hardened, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with muffin cups. Slice cream cheese log into 16 equal pieces. |
| 7. | Add about 2 TBSP of batter into each muffin cup. Place a cream cheese slice on top. Then, top with enough batter to cover cream cheese. Place streusel on top of batter, pressing gently to ensure the streusel sticks. |
| 8. | Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until muffins are golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm with a glass of milk! |
So, let there be a lesson in my rant today. When you read a recipe that tells you to only fill muffin liners up half or three-quarters of the way, think about your end result. No, you don’t want a baby muffin that only takes two bites to eat. You want an awesome, colossal-sized one!
Shared with: Recipe Linky, Recipe Roundup, Full Plate Thursday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, Trick or Treat Tuesday, Recipe Roundup
6 Responses to Cream Cheese Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
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Hey Jenna, it was so nice to chat with you on twitter yesterday! I have visited your blog before. I’m so glad I found it again. Love the cream cheese filling and you are correct, there is nothing worse than a wimpy muffin. They should be obnoxiously huge if you are purchasing it!
Hi Sarah! Nice chatting with you, too! I’ve been following your blog ever since I joined Foodbuzz. Thanks for stopping by again!
Your Muffins look delicious, sure wish I had one to go with my coffee this morning. Hope you have a great week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
These are wonderful muffins!
Anything with streusel for me
I think these must taste great
I will try and make these wonderful looking pumpkin muffins in the next day or so. Thanks for the recipe. June
They’re delicious, I highly recommend! After you make the recipe, let me know what you think!