Fluffy Vanilla Muffin with Swirls of Cream Cheese

I have seen the popular Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins everywhere and decided to put my own twist on it. The base of these muffins is vanilla and there is pumpkin pie cream cheese swirled in the batter. I also added white chocolate chips.

I also love adding a glaze to these just made with powdered sugar and nondairy milk. These muffins aren’t overly sweet but still taste super delicious. I have found the combination of almond flour and all-purpose flour creates the fluffiest muffin.

Sugar: I used coconut sugar to keep this recipe refined-sugar-free. Any granulated sugar will work. Be sure it is granulated, liquid sweeteners such as maple syrup won’t work.

Vegan butter: any vegan butter will work. If you aren’t vegan traditional butter also works. You could also use liquid oil.

Applesauce: I always use unsweetened applesauce. If you don’t want to use applesauce, you could use mashed banana, pumpkin, mashed sweet potato, or oil. I wouldn’t recommend substituting the applesauce though

Almond flour: I haven’t tested any other flours. The closest flour would be oat flour.

Nondairy milk: I used unsweetened almond milk. Any nondairy milk will work. If you aren’t vegan, traditional milk also works.

All-purpose flour: I haven’t tested any other flours. You could probably use a 1:1 gluten-free flour.

Vegan pumpkin pie cream cheese: I use the brand Kite Hill and buy it from Whole Foods. If you don’t have this, you can use plain vegan cream cheese and add pumpkin puree, sweetener of choice, and spices of choice.

White chocolate chips: I always buy my vegan white chocolate chips on Amazon.

Ingredients:

• Vegan butter

• Sugar

• Applesauce

• Nondairy milk

• Vanilla extract

• Baking powder

• All-purpose flour

• Almond flour

• Vegan pumpkin pie cream cheese

• White chocolate chips

Recipe:

Makes about 6-8 muffins

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1/3 cup sugar

• ½ cup applesauce

• ¼ cup nondairy milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup almond flour

• ¼ cup vegan pumpkin pie cream cheese

• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.    Line a cupcake pan with liners or spray with cooking spray.

3.    In a bowl melt the butter. Add in the sugar, applesauce, nondairy milk, and vanilla extract. Stir well.

4.    Add in the baking powder, all-purpose flour, and almond flour. Stir until a batter is formed.

5.    Fold in the white chocolate chips.

6.    Fill each cupcake liner with HALF the batter. Add ½ tablespoon of cream cheese on top of this. Add another layer of batter and another ½ tablespoon of cream cheese. Optional: use a knife to swirl it + add more white chocolate chips.

7.    Bake for 25 minutes.

Be sure to store the muffins in the refrigerator or freezer. The muffins should last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can prep a large batch and store in the freezer. It should last for a month minimum.

If you try this recipe and enjoy it, I would love if you could press the “like” button at the bottom of this page or leave a comment. Either one of those really helps me out!

If you ever have any questions about a recipe or substitutions, don’t hesitate to reach out!