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Tender Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins Easy Homemade Recipe with Brown Sugar Pecan Streusel

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These tender pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins with brown sugar pecan streusel are a cozy, delicious treat perfect for fall breakfasts or snacks. They combine a creamy, tangy swirl with a crunchy, caramelized streusel topping for a comforting and elegant muffin.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed (100 g) brown sugar
  • ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil or melted butter
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 g) pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 tsp lemon juice)
  • 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ cup (60 g) chopped pecans
  • ⅓ cup packed (65 g) brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Instructions

  1. Preheat your 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 chopped pecans, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or fingers to mix until pea-sized crumbs form. Set aside in the fridge.
  3. Prepare the cream cheese swirl: Beat softened cream cheese with powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolk until smooth and creamy with no lumps.
  4. Mix dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a large bowl.
  5. Combine wet ingredients: In another bowl, whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil or melted butter, eggs, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and buttermilk until smooth.
  6. Mix wet and dry ingredients: Pour wet ingredients into dry and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.
  7. Assemble muffins: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of pumpkin batter into each muffin cup. Add about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on top, then add another 2 tablespoons of pumpkin batter. Use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl for a marbled effect.
  8. Top each muffin with a generous amount of brown sugar pecan streusel.
  9. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the edge comes out clean and tops are golden with crisp streusel.
  10. Cool muffins in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Do not overmix the batter to keep muffins tender. Use room temperature eggs and cream cheese for smooth blending. Keep butter cold for streusel to achieve crumbly texture. Chill cream cheese swirl mixture if it sinks too much. Start checking muffins at 22 minutes to avoid overbaking.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin muffins, cream cheese swirl, pecan streusel, fall recipe, easy muffins, homemade muffins, pumpkin dessert, breakfast muffins

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