Best Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Is there anything more delicious than a moist muffin full of all the flavors of Fall to enjoy the season? I love both pumpkin and apple so I decided to combine them together in this amazingly sweet treat. The apples soften perfectly so that they almost melt in your mouth. Then the crumble topping gives it a nice yummy texture. And the sweet cream cheese filling is a pleasant surprise that makes this absolutely irresistible! These are so delicious for breakfast or dessert!

How To Make Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

This recipe takes a few minutes to prepare but is really very easy to make. All you have to do is:

Cream Cheese Filling

1. Make the Filling– Beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until it becomes smooth. Cover and place this in the freezer while you assemble the rest of the muffin. This will help it firm up slightly so it’s easier to form into a ball. Be sure not to over freeze though- only around 30 minutes is needed. Place in the refrigerator if it will be longer.

Muffin Batter

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients– Whisk flour, white sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set this aside.
2. Mix the Wet Ingredients– stir eggs, oil, and pumpkin puree together in a small bowl.
3. Combine– Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. With quick bread, you don’t want to over-stir or it becomes too dense.
4. Add Apples– Fold in the apples into the batter gently.
5. Fill the Muffin Cups– Fill each muffin cup with about 1 tablespoon of batter. This should be around 1/3 full of the muffin cup.
6. Add the Cream Cheese Filling– Add 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese filling to the center of the muffin cup on top of the batter. Then fill each muffin cup with 1 more tablespoon of batter or until the muffin cup is filled about 2/3 full.

Streusel Topping

1. Combine Ingredients– Whisk the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Then grate or cut butter into the flour mix. This can be done in a variety of ways. You can use a pastry blender, a fork, a food processor, or even your hands. You will want it to be a mix of sand and coarse crumbles.
2. Top the Muffins– Top each muffin with streusel topping, around 3 tablespoons or 1/4 cup. You will want enough to cover each muffin top.

Bake

1. Time to Bake– Bake for 20- 25 minutes until fully cooked through and the crumble top has a slight golden brown appearance. Take a toothpick and insert it just off the center of the muffin (since the center has cream cheese filling) and it should come out clean.
2. Glaze– (optional) Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of milk until you reach the desired consistency. I personally like a thicker glaze so it resembles a thickness like honey. Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature, drizzle glaze over the top of the muffins.
3. Enjoy– These muffins can be eaten at room temperature or cooled.

Storage Options

These muffins can be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. Once muffins have cooled, place them in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or individually wrap in cling wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Variation Ideas

There are a few different ways to add variety to these muffins:

• Apples– Use any type of apple you want! A Granny Smith will give it a slight tart flavor while something like Honeycrisp will keep it a nice and sweet flavor. You can also remove the apple altogether if you do not want it or have them on hand.
• Chocolate Chips– You can replace the apples with chocolate chips for a chocolate pumpkin flavor.
• Streusel Topping– These muffins would be delicious even without the streusel topping if you do not want to make it or would like to reduce the prep time.
• Pumpkin Spice– Need more pumpkin flavor? Replace cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice in the streusel topping for an extra pumpkin kick!