Fall is officially here, and I am LOVING these cooler temperatures. Being in the third trimester in hot and humid weather is not a good look – and I am grateful for the opportunity for more outside time.
That first cool fall morning always makes me want to do one thing – BAKE! When I saw that Starbucks had Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins on their menu I knew I had to create something similar to have ASAP.
Check out my spin on this recipe which features walnuts for some extra protein and crunch. Be sure to pin or save this recipe for later!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Walnuts
Yield: 18 Muffins
Muffin Ingredients:
- 1 Cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 Cup avocado oil
- 3/4 Cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 Cup almond milk (you can use oat milk or skim milk here as well)
- 1 Cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients
- 8oz low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line 18 muffin tins with liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin, oil and sugar by hand. Stir in the eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda until combined, but not over mixed.
- Add in the whole wheat flour and stir. Stir in the milk. Lastly, stir in the all purpose flour and walnuts until combined (but do not over mix) and set aside.
- Combine the cream cheese filling ingredients together using an electric mixer or mix by hand until well combined. Set aside.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 18 muffin tins.
- Make a small indentation in the top of the muffin with the back of a spoon for the cream cheese filling.
- Drop 1-2 Tablespoons of the filling onto the top of each muffin. You can use the back of a spoon to spread the mixture into the indentation you made.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes, and enjoy!
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, or freeze for later!
