Pumpkin Streusel Cream Cheese Muffins
These pumpkin streusel cream cheese muffins are tender, spiced, and topped with crunchy oat streusel, hiding a gooey cream cheese center. Made in 40 minutes, they're the perfect fall breakfast.
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin tin
- Large Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
For the Muffin Batter
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened, cut into 12 cubes and frozen for 20 minutes
For the Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
Instructions
- Make the streusel: stir flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Rub in the cold butter cubes with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse sand with a few pea-sized crumbs. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl until evenly distributed.
- Whisk the pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no streaks of flour remain. A few small lumps are fine.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each lined muffin cup, just enough to cover the bottom.
- Press one frozen cream cheese cube into the center of each muffin cup, making sure it is fully surrounded by batter.
- Spoon the remaining batter over each cream cheese cube, dividing it evenly. The cups should be about 3/4 full. Smooth the tops lightly.
- Sprinkle the streusel generously over each muffin and press it down gently with your fingers so it sticks to the batter.
- Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the muffin part comes out clean. The cream cheese center will stay soft.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm for the best gooey center.
Notes
Freeze the cream cheese cubes for a full 20 minutes; this keeps them centered and creates that gooey pocket. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Freeze baked muffins for up to 3 months and reheat at 300°F for 5-7 minutes to revive the streusel crunch.