Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are very soft, made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with Medjool dates. The light cream cheese filling, rich pumpkin flavor and crunchy pepita topping makes these make these better than any bakery style whole wheat muffins out there.

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

Hi everyone, Happy Wednesday! Am I a little too late with another pumpkin recipe? Aren’t we supposed to get all crazy about the coming Holidays and bake Christmas cookies, Cranberry muffins and add peppermint flavor to pretty much anything?

 

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are extremely delicious and can be made any time throughout the year, since I use canned pumpkin. They are pretty healthy, but not vegan. I used 100% whole wheat flour, all sugars were substituted with dates and agave nectar and I also used organic low fat cream cheese and yogurt.

 

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

I adapted the recipe from iFoodReal. I’ve wanted to try some of her recipes for a while now, but was always short on time and finally got to try these. And I’m glad I did. You can find a lot of simple and clean recipes there.

I’ve been a little obsessed with making sweet treats using Medjool dates lately, but never baked with these. After using them in this recipe, I’m very excited to experiment  with some other naturally sweetened baked goods.

Using pumpkin pure in these muffins creates a lot of moisture, so I did not use any oil in them. The cream cheese filling (which actually stays on top and can be called topping) brings just the needed creaminess in these and they have fiber from the whole wheat flour and the pepitas.

 

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

These whole wheat naturally sweetened pumpkin cream cheese muffins are great for a clean, healthy breakfast or snack, especially now before the holidays. They can be kept in the fridge in air-tight container for up to a week or frozen up to 3 months.

 

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Whole Wheat Dated

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

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Servings: 12

Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
50 minutes
These Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are very soft, made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with Medjool dates.
Naturally Sweetened Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
5 from 5 votes
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Ingredients

Muffins:

Wet ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup pumpkin pure
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 12 Medjool dates
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Dry ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Cream Cheese Filling:

Pepita Topping:

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (177C) and generously spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Line with baking cups (optional). Set a side.
  2. In a food processor/powerful blender, process wet ingredients until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl whisk dry ingredients. Slowly add wet ingredients from the blender and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
  4. In a separate bowl combine cream cheese and Agave nectar and mix well.
  5. In a small bowl combine ingredients for pepita topping and mix to combine.
  6. Fill each tin (paper cups are optional, but since there is no oil in the batter, I recommend using them) almost full with batter. I used an ice cream scoop.
  7. Make a small dollop in the middle of each muffin and add 1 tsp cream cheese filling. Top with pepita topping.
  8. Bake on 350 F (177 C) for 25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

Recipe Notes

Store muffins in air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Baking time may vary depending on the type of ingredients, oven and baking tin used.
I recommend that you generously grease muffin tin before you fill with batter, otherwise muffins will stick.
Course: Breakfast

Nutrition Information

Calories: 223, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 284mg, Potassium: 444mg, Carbohydrates: 40g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 21g, Protein: 6g, Vitamin A: 4125%, Vitamin C: 1.1%, Calcium: 102%, Iron: 1.7%

Cream-cheese-filled-pumpkin-muffins-naturally-sweetened