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These Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting are the ultimate fall treat—delicious, easy to make, and a perfect way to use up that extra pumpkin purée hiding in your pantry! There’s nothing better than baking up a batch of these moist, spiced muffins topped with rich cream cheese frosting. They’re a family favorite!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Fall in Every Bite: These muffins capture all the cozy, warm pumpkin flavors of autumn—it’s like strolling through a pumpkin patch!
- Creamy Indulgence: The cream cheese frosting is the perfect finishing touch—its tangy sweetness pairs beautifully with the spiced pumpkin.
- Versatile Treat: Perfect for brunch, dessert, or an after-school snack, these muffins are a hit at any fall gathering.
- Hands-On Fun: Get the kids involved! Baking these muffins is a fun and easy way to teach them some kitchen skills.
- Pumpkin Purée Saver: Got extra cans of pumpkin purée? This recipe is the perfect way to use them up! If you’re looking for a gluten-free version of pumpkin muffins, try my Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins!
The Ingredients:
For the Pumpkin Muffins:
- Flour: Just your basic all-purpose flour to give the muffins structure and fluffiness.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These make the muffins rise and keep them nice and light.
- Salt: A pinch of salt to balance all the sweet flavors.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: The secret to that warm, cozy fall flavor—cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all the good stuff!
- Melted Butter: Keeps the muffins moist and adds richness.
- Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness with a little hint of caramel—perfect with pumpkin!
- Pumpkin Purée: The star of the show! Pumpkin purée makes the muffins moist, flavorful, and full of fall vibes.
- Egg: Helps hold everything together.
- Milk: Keeps the muffins tender and soft.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a splash to add a little extra sweetness.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese: Makes the frosting super creamy and tangy.
- Butter: Adds smoothness and makes the frosting nice and rich.
- Powdered Sugar: Sweetens up the frosting and gives it that fluffy texture.
- Vanilla: A little vanilla goes a long way in making the frosting extra delicious!
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 2: In a separate bowl whisk together the butter, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, egg, milk and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until just combined.
Step 4: Pour into greased muffins cups 3/4 full.
Step 5: Bake for 20 minutes. Allow muffins to cool before frosting.
Step 6: Make the frosting. Combine cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract in bowl and beat for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy. Frost muffins once cooled.
Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting Video
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t Overmix: Stir the batter just until combined for light and fluffy muffins.
- Scoop for Even Muffins: Use an ice cream scoop to evenly portion batter for muffins that bake evenly.
- Cool Before Frosting: Let the muffins cool completely before frosting, so it doesn’t melt off.
- Add Spice to Frosting: Mix in a pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin spice for extra fall flavor!
More Pumpkin Treats
Whether you’re baking them for a special occasion or simply craving a taste of the season, these muffins muffins are a sweet treat you won’t want to miss. Let me know in the comments what you think of this recipe and leave a rating!
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Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk the remaining ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until just combined.
- Pour into greased muffins cups 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Combine all ingredients and beat for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy. Frost cupcakes and serve!
Notes
- Don’t Overmix: Stir the batter just until combined for light and fluffy muffins.
- Scoop for Even Muffins: Use an ice cream scoop to evenly portion batter for muffins that bake evenly.
- Cool Before Frosting: Let the muffins cool completely before frosting, so it doesn’t melt off.
- Add Spice to Frosting: Mix in a pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin spice for extra fall flavor!
Do you have any advice for replacing some/all of the white flour with wheat flour? Or will they just be balls of lead?
Made these this am…..delicious! Muffins are fantastic on their own and even better with the frosting. The whole family enjoyed them!
Thanks!
Love! I’m making mini-muffins and just pulled the first batch out of the oven. I ate one warm. Total yum. Filling cups about 2/3 full looks like I’ll get 36 minis out of it. And baking for 11 mins. Thank you!
Thanks for the sugar tip Sandra! My 13 month old eats these often.
These were great! I lowered the sugar to 1/2 cup and nixed the frosting. I keep them in the freezer and defrost as needed for a quick breakfast for my 11 month old! Thanks!
These came out great! Any tips for making a mini-muffin version?
These are a. maz. ing. And they totally saved the day! I have my baby girl’s 1st birthday party tomorrow, and after 3 tries of another recipe for cupcakes, they still weren’t right. So I knew I needed something else (maybe the problem was I didn’t come to weelicious first!). So I did, and you had exactly what I was looking for! These are amazing and I haven’t even made the icing for them yet. Thanks a million for having extra pumpkin in your pantry–you made my night, for sure. 🙂
Made these for my two year old daughter today. She loved them!!! Super yummy! Fantastic recipe! Definitely a keeper!
These look delicious. I have made so many things from your website. I still can’t get over how good the avocado/banana shake is! Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Shannon
So happy you like them!
Made this today and they are delicious!
I have the same question as Erin.
You can use a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, a pinch of clove and ginger 🙂
I can’t find pumpkin spice where I live … what combination of cinnamon/nutmeg/etc should I use to replace the pumpkin spice?
These look super yummy. I like that it only makes 12 too since I don’t have two regular sized muffin pans. And cream cheese pairs sooo well with pumpkin. I’ve been hoarding pumpkin though because I like it all year round!