There Goes the Cupcake…

Fall has rolled in this year fast and furious, I am still sitting here saying “What happened to October?” and already its November! I am in no way prepared for the holidays and I am actually having a hard time getting in the spirit at all. Maybe I need to see a few hundred holiday commercials fist.  :)

These muffins are not new to the internet but if you havent made them yet you are missing out. They are very good and with the bonus of a cream cheese filling and a crunchy topping, who wouldn’t want one. I made them this time with my fresh pumpkin puree and I think they were better but don’t let that stop you at all if you only have canned, they will taste just fine. These muffins are super moist and the spice is not overpowering, creating a perfect balance of flavors for fall. Everyone who has tried these really liked them so they are a great choice if you need something to make for work or a party.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Adapted from: Annie’s Eats

Yield: 24 muffins
Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves ( I use all-spice)
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (you can get this anywhere now)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

Prepare the filling-combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl and mix well until blended. Place the mixture on a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a log about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll the plastic wrap tightly around the log (sometime it’s easier to shape it into a log once it’s in the plastic wrap), then put a piece of foil around it for support. Put the log into the freezer and chill until somewhat firm, around 2 hours.

 For the muffins: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the muffin pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. In your electric mixer bowl, 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 until just combined.

For the topping: combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or pastry cutter (you can also use two forks) until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to use.

 To assemble the muffins: fill each muffin well with 1-2 tablespoons of batter. Slice the log of cream cheese into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter equally in each muffin cups, covering the cream cheese completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each muffin well. *as a trick to get more even slices, start by cutting your log in half, then half again and go from there.

 Bake for 20- 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.