Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Our Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins combine perfectly spiced, tender pumpkin muffin with crisp cinnamon streusel and a surprise cream cheese filling you’ll LOVE!

I LOVE a classic muffin recipe (I’m looking at you Blueberry Muffins!), but there’s also something SO fun about a muffin that’s a little bit extra. That’s definitely true with these gluten-free pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Why? Well, it’s probably because…

Gather Your Ingredients

Another thing to love about this easy muffin recipe? The simple ingredients list! Let’s take a look:

How To Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with parchment paper liners and set aside.
2. Make Streusel. In a small mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir with a fork until all the dry ingredients are coated in butter and clusters form.
3. Start Dry Ingredients For Muffin Batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Whisk until well blended.
4. Add Wet Ingredients. Then, add pumpkin puree, oil, milk, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk to combine until muffin batter is smooth.
5. Make Cream Cheese Filling. In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese, 3 Tablespoons sugar, egg yolk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. (You *can* mix this by hand, just make sure the cream cheese is soft before starting!)

6. Layer Muffins. Use a medium cookie scoop to add 1 1/2 Tablespoons muffin batter into each muffin cup. Then, use a small cookie scoop to add 1 Tablespoon cream cheese filling to the center of each muffin cup. I like to slightly flatten the cream cheese mixture out a bit so it doesn’t sink later. Then, top with another scoop (1 1/2 Tablespoons) of pumpkin batter on top of the cream cheese layer. Add about a 1 Tablespoon scoop of streusel topping on top of each muffin, lightly pressing it into the batter so it doesn’t fall off during baking.
7. Bake & Cool. Now, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, then (leaving the muffins in the oven), reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 15-18 minutes, or until muffins are fully baked. Let muffins cool on a wire rack before eating.
8. Serve & Store. Enjoy cooled muffins right away. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container 2-3 days in the fridge, for best results, or freeze in a freezer-safe ziplock bag for up to 2 months!

• Using room temperature ingredients will make mixing the muffin batter & cream cheese filling MUCH easier! Speed things up with our room temperature egg trick and these tips for how to soften cream cheese quickly!

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Our Go-To Muffin Tin & Liners. Your materials matter when it comes to muffins! I highly recommend a light-colored metal muffin pan and these Paper Chef parchment paper muffin liners for best results. The pan cooks gently and evenly, while the muffin liners won’t stick to your muffins!

Can I Use Homemade Pumpkin Puree? I LOVE making homemade pumpkin purée in the fall, and it works GREAT for making gluten-free pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Just make sure you drain any excess liquid out of the puree before using it!

Can I Use Pumpkin Pie Spice Instead? That’s certainly up to you, but I prefer our blend below for the best balance of fall flavors.

Tricks for the Best Pumpkin Muffins. For the best texture, I highly recommend weighing ingredients with a digital scale! If you don’t have one, make sure to measure carefully to avoid packing extra flour into the recipe. Then, just follow the directions as closely as you can–use softened ingredients, switch the baking temperature after 5 minutes, and don’t make substitutions!

More Gluten-Free Muffins To Try

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

Gluten-Free Banana Crumb Muffins

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten-Free Applesauce Muffins

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

5 from 1 vote

Author: Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

These gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake muffins combine perfectly a spiced pumpkin muffin with crisp cinnamon streusel and a surprise cream cheese filling you'll LOVE!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Print Pin Rate

Servings: 12 -14 Muffins

Equipment

• 1 Light-Colored Metal Muffin Pan
• Parchment Paper Muffin Liners
• 1 Medium Cookie Scoop (1 1/2 Tablespoon capacity)
• 1 Small Cookie Scoop (1 Tablespoon capacity)

Ingredients

For The Cinnamon Streusel

• ½ cup Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour* (60 grams)
• ⅓ cup Brown Sugar (67 grams)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, melted (57 grams)

For Pumpkin Muffin Batter

• 1 ⅔ cup Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour* (200 grams)
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree (Not Pumpkin Pie Filling)
• ½ cup Oil (Like Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil)
• ⅓ cup Milk
• ½ cup Brown Sugar (100 grams)
• ½ cup Granulated Sugar (100 grams)
• 2 Large Eggs (Room Temperature)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For The Cream Cheese Filling

• 8 ounces Full-Fat Cream Cheese, Like Philadelphia (Softened To Room Temperature)
• 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar (38 grams)
• 1 Large Egg Yolk (Save white for another use)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

• Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with parchment paper liners and set aside.
• Make Streusel. In a small mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir with a fork until all the dry ingredients are coated in butter and clusters form.
• Start Dry Ingredients For Muffin Batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Whisk until well blended.
• Add Wet Ingredients. Then, add pumpkin puree, oil, milk, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk to combine until muffin batter is smooth.
• Make Cream Cheese Filling. In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese, 3 Tablespoons sugar, egg yolk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. (You *can* mix this by hand, just make sure the cream cheese is soft before starting!)
• Layer Muffins. Use a medium cookie scoop to add 1 1/2 Tablespoons muffin batter into each muffin cup. Then, use a small cookie scoop to add 1 Tablespoon cream cheese filling to the center of each muffin cup. I like to slightly flatten the cream cheese out a bit so it doesn't sink later. Then, top with another scoop (1 1/2 Tablespoons) of pumpkin batter on top of the cream cheese layer. Add about a 1 Tablespoon scoop of streusel topping on top of each muffin, lightly pressing it into the batter so it doesn't fall off during baking.
• Bake & Cool. Now, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, then (leaving the muffins in the oven), reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 15-18 minutes, or until muffins are fully baked. Let muffins cool 2-3 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling before eating.
• Serve & Store. Enjoy cooled muffins right away. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container 2-3 days in the fridge, for best results, or freeze in a freezer-safe ziplock bag for up to 2 months!

Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour. I highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for these pumpkin cream cheese muffins. If you use another gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum, or the muffins won’t have the right texture. Do not substitute alternative gluten-free flours, like almond flour or coconut flour, into this recipe. 
• A Trick For Pretty Muffins. If, after removing the baked muffins from the oven, you notice that some of the streusel has migrated, use the back of a spoon to gently tuck it back into the muffin while it’s hot. 

Video

Course: Breakfast, Muffins

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: cream cheese, fall, pumpkin

Find the recipe:

sweetsandthankyou.com/pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins/