Pumpkin pie spice and cardamom accent the natural flavors of pumpkin in these oh-so delicious muffins and pairs nicely with the sweet cream cheese swirl.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup (2½-in.) muffin pan with paper baking cups. Lightly spray paper cups with nonstick spray; set aside. For muffin batter, whisk together whole wheat flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cardamom and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl until combined. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until combined. Set aside.

For cream cheese swirl, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg yolk and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes or until combined. Spoon mixture into a sandwich-size resealable plastic bag. Close bag; snip off ¼ in. from one corner.

Fill prepared muffin cups one-fourth full with batter. Pipe about ¾ Tbsp. of cream cheese mixture onto center of batter for each muffin; slightly swirl with a toothpick. Spoon remaining pumpkin batter on top. Pipe remaining cream cheese mixture onto center of each; slightly swirl with a toothpick.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin pan for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Store covered in refrigerator up to 3 days.