Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins filled with creamy cream cheese and apricot preserves. Bursting with Fall flavors, they’re amazing for breakfast or anytime you need a sweet treat!
My friends, you’d want room for these pumpkin cream cheese muffins on your Thanksgiving feast! Even after the turkey, the stuffing, the sweet potatoes and the green beans, everyone won’t be able to resist their intense Fall flavors.
These muffins are truly the best treat of the season. Moist and tender with sweet and creamy pockets of cream cheese and apricot preserves, they’re amazing for breakfast or any time of the day you need a sweet fix.
Not only are these pumpkin muffins a great pick-me-upper, they make awesome holiday gifts, too. I am sure there are a few family and friends on your list who’d appreciate one ( or two) with their morning coffee or afternoon tea. 🙂
Here a few helpful tips on how to bake up a batch easily and deliciously:
- If you’re greasing the pan instead of muffin liners, grease ONLY the bottom. This should help the muffins rise and have better heights.
- To keep from overworking the batter, mix dry and wet ingredients separately.
- Don’t over stir as it can cause muffins to be tough and create elongated holes and peaked tops. Combine the wet and dry ingredients just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy and thick.
- Use an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter into the muffin pans for less-mess portioning and for consistent muffin size.
- The recipe should make 12 pieces but the capacity of muffin pans can vary. If the batter somehow is not enough to fill all holes, fill the empty ones with a small amount of water to keep the heat evenly distributed in the pan.
- Allow the muffins to cool for about 3 to 5 minutes before removing so they don’t break or crumble. If the muffins are sticking to the bottom of the pan, place the hot muffin pan on a wet towel for two minutes and they should pop right out.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 6 tablespoons apricot preserves
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Grease bottoms of a 12-hole muffin pan or line with paper baking cups.
- In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, oil, and eggs. With a spoon, stir until blended.
- Add flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Stir in nuts.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups to 1/3 full.
- Spoon 1/2 teaspoon apricot preserves and 1 teaspoon cream cheese filling on the batter. Top with remaining batter.
- Bake in a 400 F oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove muffins immediately from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- In a small bowl, whisk together cream cheese, milk, and sugar until smooth and blended.
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Talha Ishaq says
These look so delicious!! Surely gonna try this!
Lalaine says
Thank you, Talha. Hope you try it!
Michael @ Super Millennial says
These look great. Cream cheese always a plus lol gotta try to make them soon!
Lalaine says
Can’t go wrong with creamy cream cheese 🙂
Daneisha Smith says
OMG these muffins look soooo good! I’m going to try this recipe for Thanksgiving! I will try to make them first at home and then maybe I’ll bake some for the holiday too. I know these are going to be so good.
https://officiallychic.com/
Lalaine says
They’re indeed so good! I hope you give them a try and will be greatly appreciated as holiday gifts 🙂
Barbara says
Food posts are the best! And these muffins just make my mouth water. I’ll try to make them tomorrow! Thanks for the inspiration!
Lalaine says
You’re welcome! Enjoy the recipe 🙂
Lauren says
This would be a great way to start Thanksgiving morning. I love pumpkins and apricots, I had never thought of pairing them together!
Lalaine says
Please do, apricot preserves work so well with the pumpkin flavor!
Pilar says
These muffins look absolutely delicious! Thanks for the detailed instructions, will bake them tonight!
xoxo,
Pilar
http://thelifestylehunter.com
Lalaine says
Enjoy!
Sara @LifesLittleSweets.com says
Hello, I love the “Surprise” with these pumpkin muffins! Pinning to my Pumpkin Everything board!
Lalaine says
Thank you, Sara!
Dina says
they look yummy!