Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

Our favorite pumpkin cupcake recipe features soft and moist pumpkin cupcakes with a lovely chocolate chip and cream cheese filling – this wonderful recipe is one of my all time favorite fall pumpkin recipes. 

No frosting needed, this pumpkin cupcake recipe is deliciously complete straight from the oven!

Not only is this recipe great in the fall, it’s good any time. But I will say, pumpkin just hits different in the fall season.

Imagine with me, for a minute.

Though the sun is warm, there’s a nip in the air… 

The leaves are turning from lush green into lovely orange, red, and rusty colors… harvesters emerge from sheds and enter the fields to bring in the crops.

Flocks of geese fly overhead towards the sunny south…

Autumn is genuinely a lovely time of year, my favorite. (Though I say that with each season that rolls around!) I love living in the Midwest where we can experience all four seasons.

I think it goes without saying, this recipe is perfect for fall and the entire holiday season, really. If you’re a pumpkin lover like myself, pair a cream cheese pumpkin cupcake with a pumpkin spice latte for the ultimate cozy morning coffee or afternoon pick-me-up this autumn.

There are a couple recipes that I absolutely must make each autumn and Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cupcakes is one of them. We think these are some of the best pumpkin cupcakes and hope you do too!

Check out this similar cupcake recipe we love – Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes. They’re very similar to these, only they’re chocolate instead of pumpkin!

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Ingredients

This recipe includes alot of the basic baking ingredients you’d expect to find in a homemade pumpkin cupcake recipe.

The signature pumpkin cupcake batter:

Flour – regular all-purpose flour

Sugar – granulated white sugar

Cinnamon – ground cinnamon

Baking soda

Baking powder

Salt

Pumpkin puree – canned pumpkin puree is a key ingredient! I love that pumpkin flavor and color.

Eggs

Oil – vegetable oil, canola oil, it doesn’t matter, though we don’t recommend olive oil.

The delicious cream cheese chocolate chip topping:

Cream cheese – full fat cream cheese, preferably

Sugar – more of that granulated white sugar

Egg

Salt

Chocolate chips – can’t forget the semi-sweet chocolate chips!

Find the full recipe on the printable recipe card below!

Supplies you may need

• Electric stand mixer – we really like our KitchenAid stand mixer and use it quite frequently in our kitchen!
• Cupcake/muffin pan  
• Cupcake liners 
• Medium mixing bowl – you’ll need another separate bowl with which to mix the cream cheese topping.
• Measuring cups and spoons – a pretty as well as functional measuring cup? Yes, please!
• Spatulas – the silicone ones are our favorites.
• Tablespoons – for scooping the batter into the prepared cupcake/muffin cups.
• Handheld electric mixer – these are so handy!

How to make our Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place 18 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan or muffin tin.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the first six dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. (Or mix by hand!)

Add the wet ingredients – pumpkin puree, eggs, and oil in with the flour mixture and mix thoroughly on low to medium speed.

Next, prepare the cream cheese chocolate chip topping. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and salt together until smooth. (Pro tip: for best results, it’s a good idea to beat the softened cream cheese by itself until it’s smooth, then add the other ingredients.) Gently mix in the chocolate chips last.

Divide the pumpkin batter evenly among all 18 prepared cupcake liners. (The current best way I’ve found to do this is to use a regular tablespoon to scoop the batter into the liners!)

Then divide the sweet cream cheese topping mixture evenly among all 18 cupcakes. (It should be about a tablespoon of topping mixture in each one.)

Pop the cupcakes in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. (Using a toothpick to check if they’re done doesn’t work the best for this recipe thanks to the oo-ey goo-ey cream cheese topping!) 

Let the cupcakes rest in the pan for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Indulge in a soft, warm, oh-so-delicious cream cheese pumpkin cupcake. Enjoy.🧡

Notes and Ideas

Make these into mini cupcakes instead of regular sized ones simply by using a mini muffin tin! Mini pumpkin cupcakes are so cute and also the perfect fall treat for after school snack, parties or events.

Add a little bit of pumpkin pie spice as well as cinnamon to make these into pumpkin spice cupcakes!

Storage

Once the cupcakes have cooled, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.

Share this Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe with everyone you know!

Have you made our Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe?

If so, leave a comment. We want to hear about it!

As always…

Thanks for visiting our small town kitchen where we love making simple recipes from scratch!

Here are some more recipes we’re loving:

The Best Ever Gold Rush Breakfast Casserole

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken

Thanks again for stopping in our small town…

’til next time,

Julie