Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Name: Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: ½ cup (72g) pumpkin seeds, without shell ((raw or roasted and salted)); 1 tbsp (14g) butter; 2 tbsp (25g) brown sugar; ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice; 8 oz (226g) cream cheese, softened; 4 tbsp (50g) granulated sugar; 2 tsp Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend ((a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested)); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tsp whole milk; ½ tsp kosher salt; 3¼ cups (455g) Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend; 2 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tsp ground allspice; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground cloves; 1½ tsp kosher salt; 2 cups (15oz or 425g) solid pack pumpkin ((do not use pumpkin pie filling)); 1 cup (240g) canola or vegetable oil ((or any other neutral-tasting oil)); 3 cups (600g) granulated sugar; ¾ cup (180g) water; 4 large eggs, at room temperature; 1 tbsp vanilla extract

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No need to drool over the muffins at the coffee shop. These Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are BETTER than those!

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Out of all the quick breads, pumpkin is my favorite. I had never had it until one day one of my old neighbors came by with a loaf of it and the kids and I devoured it. I had to have the recipe, which she willingly gave me and I made it religiously. That was over 12 years ago and the recipe has since been converted to gluten free for my own purposes, and to share with y'all. It's still one of my favorite quick breads, but it also makes one helluva good muffin (as most quick breads do).

When I saw the Starbucks' pumpkin cream cheese muffins, it was a no brainer that I would be trying them with my own pumpkin muffin batter. My husband was my taste tester, so I drove to our nearest Starbucks to obtain one pumpkin muffin for comparison purposes. Whenever I recreate something that's sold by big-wig places like Starbucks, I like to do a comparison with the non-gf peeps in my house. This gives me a true assessment as to whether my recipe measures up to theirs. My husband can be brutally honest and will definitely tell me if he thinks something I make stinks. In this case, he chose mine over Starbucks in a blind taste test, and after eating the first of my muffins, he asked if he could have another. I'm not sure what better way to convince you that these muffins are INCREDIBLE!

ingredients for Making Cream Cheese pumpkin muffins

The Muffins

ingredients for muffin batter measured out and labeled on marble counter.

Canned pumpkin - make sure you get 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend - a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested.
Canola or vegetable oil - there is no butter in this recipe, only oil (making it dairy free).
Eggs - there are four whole eggs in this recipe.
Spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves round out the list of spices in these muffins. Pretty much all those pumpkin-y fall flavors.

The Filling

ingredients for cream cheese filling measured out and labeled on marble counter.

Cream cheese - I haven't tried these with the light variety of cream cheese, but please, for the love of everything, don't use fat free. It's just, yuck!
Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend - there's just 2 teaspoons of my flour blend in the filling. It's there just to give the filling a little stability.

The Insanely Addictive Pumpkin Seed Praline

ingredients for pumpkin seed praline measured out and labeled on marble counter.

Pumpkin seeds - I actually used roasted and salted, but you can use raw if you'd prefer. I would suggest adding a pinch of salt if you use raw.
Pumpkin pie spice - just a tiny bit of pumpkin pie spice is all that's needed to coat the praline with the flavors of fall.

let's make the BEST gluten free pumpkin muffins!

When I set out to recreate Starbuck's pumpkin muffins, I knew I would start with my own gluten free pumpkin bread recipe. It's the BEST pumpkin bread you'll ever have so why look for a new recipe just for these pumpkins? Y'all know that quick breads like these are interchangeable, right? They can be made into loaf breads or muffins, just like my gluten free banana and zucchini breads.

pumpkin seeds with melted butter and brown sugar in nonstick pan.

We'll start by first making that addictive pumpkin seed praline I was talking about above. I could eat this stuff on its own, but it's even better sprinkled on top of these muffins! Simply melt butter in a small nonstick pan and add brown sugar and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Toss in the pumpkin seeds, swirl, and let the sugar melt completely. Pour onto a nonstick baking sheet (or parchment) and let cool completely before breaking up and cutting into bits.

cream cheese mixture in medium glass bowl on marble surface.

Next, we'll quickly whip together some softened cream cheese with some sugar, a little bit of gluten free AP flour, vanilla, milk, and salt until smooth. For neater muffins (similar to Starbuck's) I like to put this in a decorating bag with a large round tip. Not absolutely necessary, but makes it easier for sure.

pumpkin muffin batter in large glass bowl with large wire whisk.

To make the batter, you only need a large bowl and a whisk (plus a medium pitcher to mix the wet ingredients separately). Whisk together all of the dry ingredients (including the sugar) in the large bowl. Grab that medium measuring cup (pitcher) and add all the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Marry the two together, gently stirring (no need for another spoon--just use the whisk).

Here's where I like to let the batter rest for a few while I preheat my oven to 400 degrees F. Yep, you read that right. Starting the oven at a high temperature helps create that dome muffin top we all love so much.

putting it all together

Just a head's up, guys. You can make these muffins plain (no cream cheese or pumpkin seed praline) and they are incredible. You'll love them, I promise! BUT, the cream cheese filling and pumpkin praline take them over the top and are a near exact replica of the viral Starbucks muffins (actually better than according to my husband). The choice is yours!

piping cream cheese filling into center of muffin batter.

sprinkling pumpkin seed praline on top of muffin batter.

Scoop muffin batter nearly to the tops of the paper liners (or muffin tins). Then place the nozzle of the decorating tube into the center of the muffin batter and slowly squeeze as you're moving the bag up. Sprinkle the edges with pumpkin seed praline.

Bake the muffins at 400 F for 10 minutes and then reduce the temp to 350 F and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until muffins bounce back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

one muffin resting on open muffin liner.

Pumpkin cream cheese muffins FAQs

How do I get a high dome on muffins?

Fill the muffin batter all the way to the top of the muffin liner. Start the baking at a higher temperature (400 F), which gives that initial lift to the muffin tops, then reduce the temp to 350 F to finish baking the center of the muffins.

Why rest the muffin batter before baking?

Allowing the batter to rest for 20 minutes hydrates the gluten free flour, which helps the muffins bake taller with more rounded tops.

Why use oil instead of butter?

While butter is flavorful, using oil in muffin batter creates a fluffier, softer texture.

more gluten free quick breads and muffins

inside of cream cheese filled pumpkin muffin.

Stop staring at those coffee shop muffins when you can make them at home and they'll be MUCH better AND much cheaper too!