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Perfect Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins: Easy Recipe

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These copycat Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins are tender, spiced, and filled with a creamy center. They’re better than the bakery and made with simple pantry ingredients.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (240g) pumpkin puree (100% pure pumpkin, not pie filling)
  • ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup (30g) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (for filling)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (for filling)
  • 2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for topping (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar for topping (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. Make the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon flour. Beat until fully combined and silky. Cover and refrigerate while you make the batter.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until evenly distributed.
  4. Mix wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and glossy.
  5. Combine wet and dry: Pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. A few streaks of flour are okay. Batter will be thick and slightly sticky.
  6. Fill muffin cups: Using a cookie scoop or spoon, divide half the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about one-third full.
  7. Add cream cheese filling: Remove filling from fridge. Drop about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of each muffin cup, on top of the batter. Do not press down.
  8. Top with remaining batter: Spoon remaining batter over the cream cheese filling, covering it completely. Cups will be nearly full.
  9. Add topping: Sprinkle pepitas and turbinado sugar over the tops (optional).
  10. Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin part (not the cream cheese center) comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  11. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Chill the cream cheese filling for at least 30 minutes to prevent it from melting into the batter. Use room temperature ingredients for best results. Do not overmix the batter. For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. For dairy-free, use block-style vegan cream cheese. Muffins can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin cream cheese muffins, Starbucks copycat, fall muffins, pumpkin muffins, cream cheese filled muffins

Find it online: https://forkifyfun.com/perfect-copycat-starbucks-pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins-easy-recipe/