Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with Cream Cheese & Streusel

The ultimate pumpkin chocolate chip muffins filled with cream cheese swirls and topped with crunchy cinnamon streusel! The best pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to make this season!

The weather’s getting colder and you know what that means. Pumpkins! These are literally the best pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with cream cheese filling and cinnamon streusel I’ve tasted! And I’ve tasted a lot of pumpkin muffins lately. You know, for research. 🙂

The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

What makes these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins stand out is definitely the flavor contrast and texture from the fillings and the topping. The components of this muffin are:

• luscious cream cheese swirl filling – adds a creamy, cheesecake like flavor
• crunchy, cinnamon streusel topping – the generous streusel topping adds a crunchy texture, almost like a crunchy cinnamon cookie on top
• big chunky chocolate baking chips – these big baker’s chocolate chips add pockets of bittersweet chocolate that compliment the pumpkin and cream cheese

These muffins also have a healthy twist from the greek yogurt and avocado oil. It’s also not overwhelmingly sweet as I personally don’t like cloyingly sweet muffins. They’ll make the perfect holiday snack for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

These pumpkin muffins are the perfect fall or winter snack, dessert, or even breakfast! They taste amazing with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

Variations on the Recipe:

Instead of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips:

• dark chocolate chips
• milk chocolate chips
• cinnamon chips
• butterscotch chips
• white chocolate chips

Flavor Variations for the Streusel Topping:

• chopped nuts – walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, macadamia
• old fashioned oats (do not use quick instant oats)
• cocoa nibs
• cocoa powder
• pumpkin spice mix

You can see below the difference it makes to use big baking chocolate chips instead of mini chocolate chips. If you’re a fan of chocolate, the more chocolate the better right? I used bittersweet chocolate chips to add a bit of flavor contrast from the sweet muffin. But you can use any kind of chocolate you’d like.

How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins w/ Cream Cheese & Streusel

Make the pumpkin batter:

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Mix together the wet ingredients with the brown sugar in a large bowl. In a medium size bowl, add all the dry ingredients and pumpkin spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The consistency should be a thick batter. Add a tablespoon more flour as needed if your pumpkin puree was very wet.

Cream Cheese Filling:

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Make sure you leave out your cream cheese at room temperature to soften up. Once it’s combined with the egg, sugar, and flour, use an electric beater or whisk to get out any lumps.

Crunchy Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

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The key to getting a crunchy, crispy cinnamon streusel topping is to use…..one egg white! This helps crisp up the topping, prevents the streusel topping from melting, and it helps it better adhere to the muffin top. Do not leave out the egg white if you want a crunchy streusel topping.

Assemble the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

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Alternate the pumpkin batter, cream cheese filling, and chocolate chips until you’ve filled the muffin pan. Break apart pieces of the streusel topping with your hands and place them on top of the muffins along with the chocolate chips.

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Bake these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins at 425 degrees F for the first 6 – 7 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F for the remaining 13 – 14 minutes. This will get you taller muffins!

See the rise in the muffins? This is due to the high initial temperature of the oven. This high temperature creates what’s called “oven spring” which is a term used by bakers to describe the increase in volume you get during the first few minutes of baking. I can go on and on about baking since I love it so much and it’s in my blood (I come from three generations of professional bakers) but I’ll save that for another day. 🙂

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Let the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins cool in the pan until they can be removed and place them on a cooling rack to completely cool. Serve with your favorite cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate and enjoy!

These pumpkin muffins can be stored in the fridge for 5 days or the freezer for one month. To reheat, place them in the oven at 325 degrees F until warmed through.

I hope you enjoy these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with cream cheese and cinnamon streusel! Please share, rate, and comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

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