Sourdough Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
These Sourdough Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins are tender, warmly spiced, and swirled with tangy cream cheese for a bakery-style muffin that’s perfect for fall mornings.
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- mixing bowl
- Muffin liners
- Muffin pan
- Kitchen scoops
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 250 g all-purpose flour 2 cups
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 100 g brown sugar packed (½ cup)
- 75 g granulated sugar ⅓ cup
- 120 g sourdough discard unfed (½ cup)
- 240 g pumpkin purée 1 cup
- 120 ml neutral oil ½ cup
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cream cheese filling:
- 113 g cream cheese softened (4 oz)
- 30 g granulated sugar 2 tbsp
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional topping:
- Coarse sugar or cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Prep the oven & pan: Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment liners or grease well.
- Make the cream cheese filling: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Set aside. You can use a mixer for this, but I used a fork and it worked just fine. Just make sure your cream cheese is nice and soft!
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, sourdough discard, pumpkin purée, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Assemble the muffins: Fill each muffin cup about ⅔ full with batter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture on top of each and gently swirl with a toothpick or butter knife. Add a bit more batter on top if desired, then sprinkle with coarse or cinnamon sugar.
- Bake: Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for an additional 15–18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin (not the cream cheese) comes out clean.
- Cool & serve: Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Best enjoyed warm!
Notes
Audrey's tip: For gooier cream cheese pockets, dollop the cream cheese in the center without swirling too much. For a more “coffee shop swirl” look, drag a toothpick through the cream cheese in a figure-eight pattern.
Nutrition
Calories: 300kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 229mgPotassium: 48mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 127IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!