Healthy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Happy Autumn, friends! Despite being very busy as my first semester of college comes to a close, I couldn’t resist baking some fall goodies before Halloweekend. These cream cheese-filled pumpkin muffins are inspired by the ones from Trader Joe’s that I had when I was in elementary and middle school. I would always eat around the center filling and save it for last—kind of weird, I know.

I used less sugar and oil than most muffin recipes call for, but these definitely don’t lack! These muffins are sweetened in part with brown sugar and maple syrup for extra flavor and moist texture. I also used half whole wheat flour, half all-purpose for some extra fiber.

The cream cheese filling is technically optional, but I think it adds a lot to the muffins—you can adjust the sweetness to taste, though! It’s simply made with block cream cheese (reduced fat works too!), white sugar, vanilla extract, and a bit of flour. The flour gives the filling some structure so it doesn’t spread too much when baking.

Healthy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Yield: 18 quantity

Ingredients
For Muffin Batter:

• 220 g (1 3/4 cups) flour (I use half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp pumpkin spice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 50 g (1/4 cup) white sugar
• 50 g (1/4 cup) light brown sugar
• 60 g (1/4 cup) maple syrup
• 60 g (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
• 60 g (1/4 cup) milk of choice
• 366 g (1 1/2 cups) pumpkin pureé
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

For cream cheese filling:

• 1 8-oz block cream cheese, softened (I use reduced fat)
• 50 to 100 g sugar, to taste
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp flour

Optional:

• pumpkin seeds

Directions
For muffin batter:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line two muffin trays for 18 muffins (or make 3 mini muffins per large one).
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine sugars, maple syrup, oil, milk, pumpkin pureé, and eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine well.
4. Add wet ingredients mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no flour lumps remain. Do not overmix! This results in a tough texture.
5. Set aside to rest while preparing the filling.

For cream cheese filling:

6. Place cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Stir to combine well and adjust sugar to taste.
7. Add flour and mix until smooth.

Assembly and baking:

7. Add about 2-3 tbsp muffin batter into each mold.
8. Using the tip of a knife or a small spoon, make a well in the center of the batter.
9. Add about 1 tbsp of filling to the center of each well. I try to mold the cream cheese into a cylindrical shape with a spoon first so it doesn't spread too much when baking.
10. Optional: sprinkle the top some pumpkin seeds.
11. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. 12. Remove muffins from the pan onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Per muffin: 190 calories: 22.5 g carbs; 8 g fat; 4 g protein (with half whole wheat, half all-purpose flour; Silk cashew milk; 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese, and 50 g sugar in cream cheese)