Festive Pumpkin Muffins With Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

What better way to celebrate the arrival of Fall than Pumpkin Muffins with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting? These fluffy and moist muffins are already out of this world, but when you add a heaping pile of creamy spiced goodness, you truly get the perfect bite.

In Florida, Fall is a fleeting (if even existent at all) season.

So we Floridians rely heavily on pumpkin spice and the acceptance of boots with shorts as a fashion statement to make us feel like we are experiencing Fall with the rest of the country.

Green tip: Eating seasonally is one of the best (and most delicious) ways to support local and decrease your carbon footprint. Local foods have less associated transportation costs and fuel emissions. Simply put, eating seasonally = less environmental impact.

And eating these Pumpkin Muffins with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting is like sinking your teeth into Fall’s finest flavors.

Pumpkin Muffins with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting Tips and Tricks

You’ll Need A Hand Mixer

A hand mixer is the best tool to cream the sugar and butter together for the base of your muffins. It’s also the easiest way to combine the rest of the ingredients.

I use this Cuisinart Hand Mixer for almost all of my baking and love it! Aside from your hand mixer, here’s what else you’ll need:

You can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the spices in this recipe for convenience. Use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in the muffins and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in the frosting in lieu of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice.

The Secret is in the Softening

The butter you use should be unsalted, so you can control the amount of salt you are adding to your Pumpkin Muffins. You will also want to make sure your butter is nice and soft.

If you take it out of the fridge before you get started, and set it near your oven while it’s preheating, that should be plenty of time for it to soften. If you forget to take it out—don’t worry! Just microwave it in 15-second intervals until you get the right consistency.

Remember, we are striving for softened, not melted. You’ll know your butter is softened when your finger leaves an imprint when you poke it.

Green tip: Look for organic and palm oil-free butter if you can. Buying organic means you are supporting farms that do not use damaging pesticides and fertilizers, and palm oil production is a huge driver behind deforestation.

Cream The Butter and Sugar and Pumpkin First

Creaming your fat (in this case butter) and the sugar together doesn’t just combine these ingredients together, it actually aerates them.

Adding these air pockets is a super-effective way to get a lighter, fluffier muffin. Add the pumpkin puree, butter, and both sugars to a large mixing bowl first and use a hand mixer to aerate.

Add The Eggs and Vanilla Next

Arguably the best part of this muffin recipe is it only requires one bowl. Less cleanup is always music to my ears!

Green tip: Speaking of cleanup, if you have a dishwasher-use it! Comparing dishwashing to handwashing, using an efficient dishwasher uses 1/6th the amount of water to get your dishes clean!

But one bowl means mixing all the ingredients can be a little bit more difficult. So, there’s a particular order in which things should be added to ensure everything is well combined.

After creaming your butter, sugars, and pumpkin puree, add your eggs and vanilla extract. Use your hand mixer to integrate.

Dry Ingredients Come Next

Next comes your dry ingredients. Add the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.

Use your hand mixer to combine, ensuring that no clumps of flour or baking soda are left behind, and that the spices are evenly distributed.

Add You Milk Last

And finally, add your milk. It’s easiest to add it 1/4 cup at a time, mixing in between. Or, you can simply add it while your hand mixer is on low.

To make sure it is completely integrated, use a spatula to push the batter down from the sides of the bowl and mix again.

Don’t Forget to Line or Grease

The last thing you want is to make this tempting batter, pour them into the tin, smell their deliciousness wafting from the oven, wait anxiously for them to cool and then NOT be able to remove them!

Always grease your muffin tin completely with butter, oil, or nonstick spray. You could also opt for muffin tin liners!

Green tip: To reduce your waste, consider a reusable oil sprayer! You can refill it over and over with your oil of choice instead of buying spray oil in single-use aerosol containers.

Fill Your Muffin Tin

These muffins do rise, so you fill them about 3/4 of the way, leaving space for the fluffy muffin top.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting Tips and Tricks

Mix Your Cream Cheese, Butter, and Vanilla Extract First

Once again, you’ll have the best success if your butter and cream cheese are softened.

Add them to a mixing bowl with the vanilla extract and whip until smooth. Then, you can add your spices and mix until evenly distributed.

Add The Sugar Slowly

Start with 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix it into your spiced cream cheese/butter mixture.

Then, continue to add, with the hand mixer on low until you get your desired consistency. I find mine is perfect after 2 full cups, but it may be a little more or a little less depending mostly on the temperature of your kitchen.

Melt Hearts, Not Frosting

The hardest part of baking these bad boys is waiting to frost them once they come out of the oven.

I’ll admit it, nine times out of ten I’ll eat one warm before I get the chance to frost it. But, after your ONE, let the rest cool completely before frosting.

Because while a muffin swimming in a pool of melted cream cheese frosting will probably still taste good, our goal is to get a little pile of deliciousness on top.

Use a Piping Bag

The easiest way to add your spiced cream cheese frosting is with a piping bag. Once you’ve made your frosting, add it to a piping bag and store it in the refrigerator until your muffins are completely cooled.

Slowly squeeze the frosting out of the piping bag as you move in a circular motion around the top of the muffin.

Green tip: Reduce your plastic waste by using these Reusable Piping Bags!

If you don’t have piping bags, you can easily use a storage bag. Just seal it and use scissors to cut the very tip of one corner off. Voila! Makeshift piping bag!

Storing Your Pumpkin Muffins

In an airtight container, these babies will last about 3 days at room temperature or a week in the fridge.

It’s best not to freeze these frosted, but if you opted to leave off the spiced cream cheese frosting, you can! Store just the muffins in an airtight container in the freezer for about 3 months.

Just thaw before enjoying!

Why You Should Make These Pumpkin Muffins

• They’re festive. The smell, look, and taste of Fall all in muffin form.
• They’re moist. the texture is beyonf soft and moist!
• That frosting! The perfect spice blend only enhances the deliciousness of the cream cheese frosting.

If you’re loving these pumpkin muffins and want or more delicious pumpkin recipes, check out these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and this Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce.