Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Cake Mix

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Are you excited about pumpkin season the way I am? When the leaves begin to turn, pumpkin quickly becomes one of my favorite baking ingredients. One of my favorite pumpkin recipes in the fall season is Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.

I’m sure that once you try it, you’ll love it too! Spiced with delicious pumpkin spice, these moist, pumpkin-flavored muffins have a sweet cream cheese filling that will fill your house with an irresistible aroma and leave you asking for seconds and thirds!

A Tasty Way to Say Hello to Fall!

a super delicious pumpkin muffin filled with sweet cream cheese served with a hot tea cup

Moist Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Looking for a moist muffin recipe to share with your loved ones? This homemade pumpkin cheesecake muffin recipe is a great choice.

These pumpkin treats have a moist texture, making them the best fall breakfast with a hearty hot cup of coffee.

Pop some pumpkin muffins in a sealed plastic bag and have one quickly with a cup of tea when you are busy working.

Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin Ingredients

To make Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin Recipe, you will need the following simple ingredients:

This pumpkin muffin recipe needs the following ingredients: canned pumpkin puree, eggs, spice cake mix box, pumpkin pie spice, Cinnamon, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract

Canned Pumpkin Puree: The essential ingredient in this Starbucks copycat recipe is canned pumpkin puree. I don’t recommend using pumpkin pie mix.

Eggs: Add eggs to the pumpkin muffin batter in order to bind the ingredients together.

Spice Cake Mix Box: This is used to get moist pumpkin muffins. In my recipe, I used 15.25 oz of Betty Crocker™ Delights Super Moist™ Spice Cake Mix.

Pumpkin pie spice: For a hearty fall flavor, pumpkin pie spice is a key ingredient when making these pumpkin Starbucks muffins.

Cinnamon: A little bit of ground cinnamon adds a sweet woody flavor to these pumpkin spice muffins.

Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese to make the cream cheese filling. Make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature.

Granulated sugar: For a sweet cream cheese filling, add granulated sugar to the cream mixture.

Vanilla extract: For a delicious cream cheese filling, add vanilla extract for an additional sweet flavor.

Check the recipe card for quantities.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Delicious!

soft and moist pumpkin muffins with cream cheese swirl

Steps to Make Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

First, preheat the oven to 410 degrees F and line muffin tins with liners.

Next, in a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, egg, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon until fully combined. Add cake mix and fold until everything is combined. Using a cookie scope, fill the muffin liners placed in the muffin pan.

Then, make the cheesecake filling: in a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.

Now, add a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture to the center of each muffin.

After that, bake for 10 minutes at 410 degrees F. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Finally, place the muffins on a wire rack to cool completely.

Perfectly Soft and Moist Muffins

pumpkin muffins stuffed with sweetened cream cheese filling

My Best Part?! Serve these Moist Pumpkin Muffins

Enjoy Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. If you are a fan of pumpkin spice flavor, you can enjoy copycat Starbucks pumpkin muffins with a pumpkin spice latte.

You can top your muffins with a cream cheese swirl instead of putting it in the center of the muffins. Try to keep sweet cream cheese from touching the paper liners.

One of the other favorite ways is to top these best pumpkin muffins with cinnamon streusel. It is a crumbly topping usually made in a medium bowl with cinnamon, butter, all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour, and brown sugar.

You can also enjoy one of these amazing muffin recipes: Easy Banana Muffins with Crumb Topping, Jumbo Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins, Easy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins, or Milk-Free Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Irresistible Pumpkin Muffins

These Pumpkin Muffins are perfectly spiced, moist, and have a sweet cream cheese filling inside.

Substitutions and Add-ins

Pumpkin puree: To make homemade pumpkin cheesecake muffins, you can use homemade pumpkin puree instead of Canned Pumpkin Puree.

Pumpkin pie spice: Don’t have pumpkin pie spice? Don’t worry, you can use cinnamon with a pinch of ground ginger and nutmeg.

Cake Mixes: Instead of using the spiced cake mix, you can use any cake mix you have on hand.

Chocolate chip muffins: Who doesn’t love chocolate chips? Absolutely nobody! So, here is the magic. You can make chocolate chip pumpkin muffins by simply adding mini chocolate chips into the batter.

Make your own version next time and let me know about the result.

The Ultimate Fall Treat!

soft, moist, brimming with pumpkin spice flavor, and filled with sweet cream cheese filling!

Pro Tips for Best Muffins

Use muffin liners to make this Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffin recipe.

Use a spatula or hand mixer to mix the muffin mixture well.

For best results, whisk the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree and egg yolk) together in a large mixing bowl before adding the other dry ingredients.

After adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, don’t over-mix the muffin batter!

If you don’t have a cookie scoop, use a piping bag to fill enough batter into the muffin cups.

Pin It!

these pumpkin muffins bake up soft and yummy, and the pocket of cream cheese filling adds creamy goodness to every bite

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I have to use pumpkin seeds in this Starbucks pumpkin muffin recipe?

Pumpkin seeds are optional in this pumpkin muffin recipe. However, if you want to make the true copycat Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins, then yes sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of the muffins.

Can low-fat cream cheese be used to make sweet cream cheese filling?

To avoid getting a runny filling, don’t use low-fat cream cheese. Use full-fat cream cheese to make the filling for these pumpkin cream cheese muffins with cake mix.

Enjoy the Hearty Fall Flavor!

the creamy cheese center inside a pumpkin treat will make this recipe your favorite treat

Equipment

To make copycat Starbucks pumpkin muffins, you need to use a 12-cup muffin tin, Muffin liners, and a cookie scope.

So for the Muffin pan, use Wilton Perfect Results Premium Non-Stick Bakeware Muffin Pan.

As for the cookie scope, use Wilton Stainless Steel Small Cookie Scoop, Silver, and 3 tbsp cookie scope

Muffin liners: Muffin and cupcake liners.

Storage

Store Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffin leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Reheat cream cheese pumpkin muffins in the microwave for about 8–10 seconds to get fresh pumpkin muffins again.

Freeze these copycat Starbucks pumpkin muffins in a freezer bag for up to 2-3 months. When you are ready to serve the muffins, thaw them overnight in the fridge or on the countertop.

You Will Ask for More!