Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

This is the first recipe of September and I would be remiss if I didn’t celebrate the end of summer (aka the beginning of fall) with a yummy pumpkin recipe! These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are seriously SO GOOD. I know the official first day of fall is the 23rd, but I am so ready and obviously there’s no shame in my pumpkin spice game. Anyone with me?

I posted a picture of some muffins I made a couple of weeks ago on Instagram and so many of you were interested in them that I decided to try my hand at my own recipe. The original is from Autumn Calabrese’s cookbook “Fixate“, and is quite yummy,  but of course I wanted to give it my own spin. And lemme tell ya… They are oh so delicious! The pumpkin, the spices, the cream cheese… It seriously doesn’t get tastier than that. 

To really add to the pumpkin spice flavor, I added in extra ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves and cinnamon along with the pumpkin spice. It gave the muffins a delicious flavor reminiscent of a spice cake, that contrasts perfectly with the cream cheese. To sweeten I opted for some 100% pure maple syrup because I love the delicious flavor it gives.

Instead of regular flour, I used a combo of paleo flour from Thrive Market (Bob’s Red Mill works as well!) and Brown Rice Flour. I like that it uses less grains and the texture was out of this world. But don’t take my word for it – try it out yourself! ;) 

And I can officially tell you these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are James and Isaac approved (although I would take James’s opinion with a grain of salt… the kid also likes to eat sand)! Enjoy these muffins for breakfast, snack or my favorite way, as a pre workout “meal” in the morning! They are filling, delicious and the PERFECT way to welcome in the fall. :)

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Muffins:
1 egg
1 can pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cups brown rice flour
3/4 cups paleo flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Coat muffin tins with oil.
In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and maple syrup. Set aside. 
In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, pumpkin, vanilla and maple syrup. 
In a large bowl, mix together the brown rice and paleo flours, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir in the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. 
Scoop about 2 Tbsp of the muffin batter into each muffin tin. Smush down the middle a little and spread around to fully coat the bottom of the tin. Scoop a tsp of the cream cheese mixture into each tin, then cover with another 1-2 Tbsp of muffin batter. Spread and pat down. 
Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes or until they are no longer mushy when touched. 
Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the muffin tin to finish cooling on a rack. Enjoy warm with a fresh cup of coffee! 

Looking for more fall recipes? Check out these:
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Protein Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Spice Latte

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation if you purchase an item using that link at no extra charge to you. This is to help keep the blog running, and giving me the ability to bring you amazing content! 
All opinions in this post are my own. I was not paid, nor did I receive any items in exchange for this review. I’m just sharing what I love because I love y’all!