Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin Recipe

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg yolk, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer for 1–2 minutes until smooth. Place the bowl in the freezer to chill while you prepare the rest—this prevents the filling from melting into the muffins.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 ¾ cups sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, eggs, vegetable oil, and milk until well combined.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until incorporated. The batter will be quite thick.
5. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the batter rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
6. For bakery-style muffins, line a 12-cup muffin pan with only 6 liners, leaving an empty well between each filled one. (If using tulip liners, you can fill every well; they naturally produce taller muffins.) For regular liners, the every-other-well method works best.
7. Scoop 2 tablespoons of batter into each liner. Drop 1 tablespoon of the chilled cream cheese mixture on top, then use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter. Add 6 more tablespoons of batter to cover the cream cheese, then top each muffin with another ½ tablespoon of cream cheese and swirl again with a toothpick. Sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar.
8. If baking multiple batches, refrigerate the remaining batter while the first pan bakes. Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 7 minutes. Without removing the pan, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and continue baking: 18–21 minutes for regular liners, or 20–25 minutes for tulip liners, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan. Repeat with remaining batter, remembering to reset the oven to 425°F (220°C) before baking the next batch.