Ingredients
Scale
- For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the Muffin Batter:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease them generously with non-stick spray. In a small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Drop teaspoon-sized dollops of the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and place them in the freezer for 10 minutes while you prepare the batter. This makes them easier to handle later.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Ensure there are no large lumps of brown sugar left in the mix. Creating a uniform dry base prevents overmixing once the wet ingredients are added.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until fully combined and smooth. The mixture should be bright orange and thick. Avoid using pumpkin pie filling, as it contains extra sugars and spices that will alter the recipe’s balance.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the mixture together until just combined. Stop as soon as you see no more streaks of white flour. Overmixing at this stage will lead to tough, dense muffins rather than the light, airy bakery style you want.
- Spoon about 1.5 tablespoons of batter into the bottom of each muffin cup. Retrieve the cream cheese dollops from the freezer and place one in the center of each cup. Top the cream cheese with the remaining batter until each cup is nearly full. Filling them to the top is the secret to those large, impressive muffin domes.
- Place the tin in the oven and bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 15 to 18 minutes. The initial burst of heat activates the leavening agents for a better rise. A toothpick inserted into the cake part (avoiding the cream cheese) should come out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
- Cook Time: 45 minutes