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Moist Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins Easy Cinnamon Streusel Recipe

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These moist pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins feature a cinnamon streusel topping and a luscious cream cheese swirl, delivering a perfect balance of flavors and textures ideal for cozy fall mornings.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup (240ml) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (120ml) buttermilk (or regular milk + 1 tsp lemon juice)
  • 8 oz (225g) cream cheese, softened
  • ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour (for streusel)
  • ⅓ cup (70g) brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for streusel)
  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well.
  2. Make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine ½ cup flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add cold cubed butter and mix with fingers or pastry cutter until coarse crumbs form. Refrigerate.
  3. Prepare the cream cheese swirl: Beat softened cream cheese with ⅓ cup sugar until smooth. Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; mix until creamy and smooth. Set aside.
  4. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  5. Combine wet ingredients: In another bowl, whisk melted butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in pumpkin purée and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in buttermilk until smooth.
  6. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients gently until just combined; batter should be thick but pourable.
  7. Assemble muffins: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of pumpkin batter into each muffin cup. Add about 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture on top, then another 2 tablespoons pumpkin batter. Use a butter knife or skewer to swirl the cream cheese through the batter.
  8. Sprinkle cinnamon streusel topping generously over each muffin.
  9. Bake for 22–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs and muffins spring back lightly when touched.
  10. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Use room temperature eggs and softened cream cheese for smooth mixing. Keep butter melted but cooled to avoid scrambling eggs. Do not overmix batter to keep muffins tender. Use a thick batter and layer cream cheese swirl carefully to prevent sinking. Tent muffins with foil if streusel browns too quickly. Use an ice cream scoop for even portions. Cool muffins before removing from pan to prevent crumbling.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin muffins, cream cheese swirl, cinnamon streusel, fall recipe, moist muffins, easy pumpkin recipe, autumn baking

Find it online: https://avabake.com/moist-pumpkin-cream-cheese-swirl-muffins-easy-cinnamon-streusel-recipe/