These high altitude pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins are moist and fluffy, full of warm fall spices and a swirl of tangy cream cheese baked on top.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for salted maple pumpkin cake, perfect pumpkin pie, and pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. Just mix up the batter with a bowl and spoon, and the muffins are ready to bake.
Cream Cheese Swirl. Pumpkin muffins with cream cheese swirl make a delicious treat for breakfast in the fall and winter months. The cream cheese bakes into a cheesecake like topping that’s so good with the flavor of the pumpkin and cozy spices.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin. Adds pumpkin flavor, of course, but also moisture. Be sure to use canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Sugar. You’ll need both granulated sugar and light or dark brown sugar to add sweetness and moisture.
- Vegetable Oil + Milk. Moisture.
- Eggs. Adds moisture, structure and strength, while an extra egg yolk in the cream cheese topping helps to bind it together.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Flour. All purpose flour adds structure and strength.
- Corn Starch. Tenderizes the muffins for a soft, fluffy texture.
- Baking Soda. Leavening agent, so the muffins rise as they bake.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves are perfectly complementary to the pumpkin.
- Cream Cheese. Use full fat, block style cream cheese for the best results. Be sure it’s softened to room temperature, or it will be too cold and thick to swirl into the muffin batter.
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line a standard-sized muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- Lightly spray the liners with non-stick baking spray, to easily release the muffins, and spray the top of the muffin pan, too.
Muffins
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugars, oil or butter, milk, eggs and vanilla.
- Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together with a spatula, just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups; they will be fairly full.
Cream Cheese
- In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the sugars, egg yolk, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Use an electric mixer (or a strong arm and a whisk) to whip the mixture until smooth and creamy.
- Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the muffin batter, then use a chopstick or wooden skewer to gently swirl it in. This will actually work better if you do 3-4 small dollops of cream cheese on each muffin, rather than one large dollop.
Bake
- Put the muffins in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 F. Bake the muffins on the center oven rack for about 22-25 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, or with moist crumbs.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 2 minutes, then carefully remove and set on a wire cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes, and serve warm.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat individual muffins in the microwave for 30-40 seconds at 50% power.
During recipe testing, I didn’t have good results with filling the centers of the muffins with the cream cheese. That tended to cause the centers to collapse and sink from the weight of the filling.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted unsalted butter)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
Cream Cheese
- 6 oz block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line a standard-sized muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- Lightly spray the liners with non-stick baking spray, to easily release the muffins, and spray the top of the muffin pan, too.
Muffins
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugars, oil or butter, milk, eggs and vanilla.
- Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together with a spatula, just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups; they will be fairly full.
Cream Cheese
- In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the sugars, egg yolk, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Use an electric mixer (or a strong arm and a whisk) to whip the mixture until smooth and creamy.
- Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the muffin batter, then use a chopstick or wooden skewer to gently swirl it in. This will actually work better if you do 3-4 small dollops of cream cheese on each muffin, rather than one large dollop.
Bake
- Put the muffins in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 F. Bake the muffins on the center oven rack for about 22-25 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, or with moist crumbs.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 2 minutes, then carefully remove and set on a wire cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes, and serve warm.
Loved these! The cream cheese swirl is the star of the muffin. A great addition to the pumpkin