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Maple Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin cream cheese muffin recipes
Brittany Stage

Maple Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin muffins sweetened with pure maple syrup throughout, both in the spiced batter and the soft cream cheese center. The maple adds a deeper, more complex sweetness than sugar and pairs naturally with warm fall spices.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Total Time 44 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 290
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
  • 2/3 cup pure maple syrup Grade A dark, for batter
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted and cooled butter
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 8 oz cream cheese full-fat, softened to room temperature
  • 3 tbsp pure maple syrup Grade A dark, for filling
  • 1 large egg yolk for filling
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract for filling
  • 1/8 tsp salt for filling

Equipment

  • 12-cup muffin tin
  • 2 large mixing bowls
  • hand mixer
  • whisk
  • rubber spatula
  • cooling rack

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease each cup well. Maple-sweetened batters brown faster than sugar-based ones, so watch your oven during the last few minutes.
  2. Make the cream cheese filling. Using a hand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and lump-free. Add 3 tablespoons maple syrup, the egg yolk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat until just combined and creamy. Set the bowl aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon until evenly combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, 2/3 cup maple syrup, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the oil is fully incorporated.
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. The batter will be slightly thinner than a standard muffin batter because of the syrup. That is normal. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see dry flour streaks.
  6. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup. Add a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese filling into the center of each, then top with another tablespoon of batter to mostly cover the filling.
  7. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes. Start checking at 22 minutes. The tops should look set and golden at the edges. A toothpick inserted into the pumpkin batter area (not the cream cheese pocket) should come out with just a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
  8. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before eating. The cream cheese center stays very soft and hot right out of the oven.

Notes

Grade A dark maple syrup is labeled as such at most grocery stores and has a robust, pronounced maple flavor. Light amber or fancy grade syrups are too mild to come through clearly against pumpkin spice.