Better Than Starbucks Pumpkin Muffins
I’ve made these three times since my sister brought them for an October birthday brunch (a morning on which we could all get together to collectively celebrate 4 birthdays within a week) – sometimes stuffed with cream cheese, sometimes not. They’re delicious either way – dark and moist and mildly spiced – and fast to stir together, even at 4:20 as it was on one morning when I was on early traffic duty on CBC – this batter takes no time to whisk together and divvy into muffin cups before you hop in the shower. Your coworkers will thank you for it.
I’m working out of a cushy office with a mountain view this week – out in Jasper for the 24th annual Christmas in November festivities; the first weekend group had left on Sunday, round two arrived yesterday afternoon. My sleep-in was foiled by the time change, but having irreparably woken up at 6:42 am, I got to work in bed for the morning, and then treated myself to a visit to the spa for the best facial I’ve ever had (not that I’ve had many) – it was part excavation, part exorcism.
And – news! When I got back to my room, after lounging in the spa in a big plush robe with a stack of holiday food magazines (bliss!) and then sneaking up to the lobby in my sunglasses and greasy post-facial hair for a hot chocolate with whipped cream (!) and shaved dark chocolate (!) I came back to the room to follow the Taste Canada Food Writing Awards gala in Toronto-an event I had missed to be here in Jasper. Spilling the Beans was a finalist for best single-subject cookbook in English in Canada, and it won. Just wow. Chef Michael Smith’s book, Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen (Penguin) won in the general cookbook category, Unquenchable by Natalie MacLean (Doubleday) for culinary narrative and Made in Italy, by David Rocco (HarperCollins) for best regional/cultural cookbook.
Congrats to all. And after talking with Sue and celebrating with Michael and some champagne, I went to bed feeling like a real food writer.
But – back to the muffins. If you skip the cream cheese and sprinkle their tops with sugar before you bake them, they come out looking a little like molasses crackle cookies. It might seem like a lot of oil – we cut back on the original already – but you could probably cut it back further. Or remember that canola oil is a heart-healthy kind of fat, one that will keep your muffins deliciously moist.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
AuthorJuliePreheat the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups and if you like, sprinkle with coarse sugar. If you're filling them, poke a hole in the top of each with the handle of a wooden spoon and add a small spoonful of the cream cheese mixture. Bake for 25 minutes, or until springy to the touch.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups and if you like, sprinkle with coarse sugar. If you're filling them, poke a hole in the top of each with the handle of a wooden spoon and add a small spoonful of the cream cheese mixture. Bake for 25 minutes, or until springy to the touch.
Congratulations to you and Sue!! Enjoy your time in Jasper!
By the way, you are looking amazing!
Glad to see Taste Canada recognized that Spilling the Beans is fantastic! Cheers & congratulations to you & Sue 😀
Yeah for Spilling the Beans! “Just… wow”.
Heck, yes!
Two more things: I made these from your original post back in October: I did mini muffins, and filled them with cream cheese. What a big hit! I reduced the oil, too. To compensate, I added a splash of eggnog, instead. So good!
Thing two: stop it! you’ve hardly ever had a facial? But your skin is so glorious! *sigh*
Well done Julie and Sue…so pleased for you. See! All that hard work putting the project together really paid off!
Congratulations Julie – It is a wonderful cookbook
Enjoy Jasper
Wow!! Congrats!! That book is on my xmas list and I’ll looking forward to checking it out 🙂
Congratulations Julie and Sue! That’s fantastic news. It’s a great cookbook and one I enjoy using a lot!!
Lucky you to be in Jasper – it’s my most favorite spot on the planet.
Thanks for the pumpkin muffin recipe. I think I’ll try this on the weekend. Thanks also for maintaining this wonderful blog. Just about every single thing I cook or bake is a “Julie recipe.”
Congrats to you & Sue and of course Michael!! Enjoy the rest of your time in Jasper… sigh! Wish I was there. Can’t wait to try these muffins.
Congratulations on your win! Well, Well, done Darlink! I loved the Tweet “your the Jan Arden of Food writers”from a fan. I’ve always enjoyed reading your perspective on daily life. A sense humor is invaluable today. Thanks for keeping ours afloat. I will be buying your Bean book.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!And you look fantastic!
Congratulations… you totally deserve this! Great picture!
Congratulations to Julie and Sue. And as Ann said above, thanks for the blog. If I ever need something, this is the first place to go. Today’s butternut squash soup was from ‘day 225’. Remember when it was just supposed to be a year? So glad you’ve kept it up, I really appreciate it!
I love these Starbucks muffins but have been scared ever since I read the crazy ingredient list (why, oh why, do I do that to myself? I have a compulsive need to turn over the package and read the label.) I’m so happy to have found a homemade version! They seem perfect for a Christmas brunch – especially with the cream cheese in the middle! I hope you won’t mind too much if I tell people it’s ‘my secret recipe’ 😉
Congratulations on your success! You’re my favorite real food writer 🙂
Congratulations to all concerned!
Those muffins look amazing!
I love all things pumpkin, so I’m definitely adding them to my must-make list.
Enjoy the rest of your time in Jasper.
Congratulations, Julie! So wonderful! (I never doubted your authentic food writerly-ness!)
I made these muffins, but with some whole wheat and fresh cranberries. So, so good. http://bit.ly/SFOJzi
The win is great news! I am super excited for you! Not surprised, however. I have the book and it is tremendous. I flipped through Michael’s and it looks very good,too.
This post makes me smile. Congratulations! Spilling the Beans is a great book, I have used it every weekend since the snow started. And for someone who doesn’t cook that often it makes me feel like a superstar. And now I have some pumpkin muffins to try. 🙂
WOW!!!! What a thrilling achievement! I have this recipe book and love it. Thanks so much for your work here. You are my first go to for a recipe when I’m searching and I refer to you regularly with my family. {Every once in a while my daughter tells me…”you know Mom, Julie doesn’t know you, she’s not your friend”}
But it feels like you are!! I bet every other reader would agree.
I tried these muffins with my daughters as my helpers and they may be the very best muffins I have ever produced in my kitchen. I was holding a fussy toddler as I was adding the cream cheese filling, so instead of it being inside the muffins it kind of ended up as a topping. They are still delicious and look great.
So happy for you and Sue. I made the butternut squash lasagna for dinner last night. Really yummy. I made these muffins immediately after reading your post. Thanks for the inspiration.
Those are gorgeous. Sometimes pumpkin stuff is almost too moist, almost gummy on the surface, so I suspect you got the oil perfect.
I love pumpkin flavored things and those muffins look great.
The pumpkin muffins are so delicious! I made them without the cream cheese, but added a little sprinkle of vanilla sugar on top for just the right amount of sweetness. The texture of the muffins is great too … probably my most successful attempt at pumpkin muffins. Thanks for posting this recipe Julie!
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Excellent recipe..I make it slightly different.
I use 2.5 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of oat bran.
I add 1/4 cup of plain yogurt or kefir for added moistness.
and sweeten with 1/2 cup liquid honey instead of sugar..
When in a huurry instead of cinnamon sugar sprinkle top with choc chips and forget about the icing.
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I made these, added an extra egg yolk, and put them in a 12 muffin cup pan, filled to overflow. These muffins don’t rise too much, so no mess. Very moist, fulfilling muffin with coffee. Freeze well.
I made these today and they are awesome. I cut the oil amount in half, used half whole-wheat flour and half white, added 1/2 cup each of chopped pecans and dried apricots. Thanks for another great recipe.
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Colosal waste of time. Batter was too think, muffins barely rose and were very dense. Bleck.
Hi Julie,
Just making these today after getting your last newsletter. I put the cream cheese in but have a question. Was I supposed to cover up the cream cheese with more batter? I thought it might sink in more but it didn’t really do that.
Thanks,
Rebecca
Ugh-why do they sell pumpkin in such weird portions – I freeze my pumpkin puree in one cup portions.
Also, do you plan to attend Christmas in November in Jasper ever again?
I know, right? And if it was up to me, I’d be there every year… 🙁
Has anyone ever made the muffins with cooked pumpkin? (steamed or baked) I am in Australia and sadly, while there are several varieties of fresh pumpkin in the stores, it is impossible to buy canned pumpkin!
Kind regards,
from a Canadian down under
Yes! I cook and puree pumpkin and that’s what I use all the time.
I don’t know if I didn’t follow the instructions correctly or maybe I did something wrong but these muffins did not turn out well.
I just wanted to tell you, I’ve used this recipe for years and probably refer back to it 3-4 times a year. It’s still hands down the yummiest pumpkin muffin recipe I’ve found!
Aw, I’m so glad to hear it! I have to make them again sometime!