1-Gathering and Preheating: First, preheat your oven to 425°F and line a muffin tin with liners. This high start helps create those beautiful domed tops we love in cream cheese pumpkin spice muffins. Measure out all your ingredients ahead of time, like the 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree and 2 large eggs, to keep things organized.

2-Mixing the Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, sunflower oil, and vanilla extract, whisking until everything blends perfectly. In another bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3-Mixing the Batter continued: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture gently, then add the whole milk and mix just until combined. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes at room temperature this step ensures your cream cheese pumpkin spice muffins turn out extra moist.

4-Preparing the Filling: While the batter rests, blend the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, flour, and vanilla extract until smooth, then stir in the whole milk. Transfer this to a piping bag for easy use later. This filling is what gives your muffins that creamy center everyone’s talking about.

5-Baking and Cooling: Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling each to the rim. Insert the piping bag tip about ¼ inch into the center of each and pipe the filling in a circular motion. Sprinkle chopped pumpkin seeds around the filling and press them lightly into the batter.

6-Baking and Cooling continued: Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F and continue for 12 to 15 minutes until firm. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. For more ideas on substitutes, check out our sweet potato recipes that can inspire tweaks like using mashed sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin.