We went down to the 80's today, fall is in the air!



Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins





Ingredients




  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree (or a 15 oz can will work fine)
  • 1¼ cups vegetable oil
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons flour
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces




  • To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter.
  • Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer.
  • To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
  • To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
  • To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. (My batch made 28 muffins for some reason.) Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well.
  • You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.