Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

It’s October.

I need pumpkin-themed food.

Need.

So I made these. I’ve been making them for the past few years, every fall. In the past, I’ve taken them to work and had very positive reactions. I’ve also had positive reactions from hubby, even though he isn’t a fan of too much pumpkin. They’re just so GOOD!

The extent of my pan prep is right here: 18 cupcake liners. Mine are foil, but paper works just as well.

There are four mixtures that you need to make before you can assemble the muffins. The first one is the sweetened cream cheese filling. This time around, I used light cream cheese. I accidentally bought it because an elderly couple was camped out in front of the cream cheese display and oblivious to the fact that they were blocking everyone who wanted some. I just reached an arm in and this is what came out. I figured that even though light isn’t as good when it’s just smeared on a bagel, we probably wouldn’t notice the difference in baked goods (I was right).

Put it in a bowl with an egg, some vanilla extract, and some brown sugar.

All mixed up, this is what it looked like.

Set that aside for a bit and start on the second mixture: the streusel topping. Here’s some flour and sugar. The recipe says white sugar, but I always substitute brown sugar for some of it. There’s also some cinnamon here but you can’t see it because I accidentally covered it up. And cold butter. I could have added pecans but I didn’t have any. I still haven’t recovered from dumping half my pantry this summer when we moved.

Anyway, mix it up with a pastry blender.

And set that aside, as well.

Okay, the third mixture is simply the dry ingredients in your regular muffins. This is all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. I made a well in the middle in preparation for the wet ingredients.

And here’s the fourth mixture: wet ingredients. Egg, vanilla, pumpkin, and olive oil in an ugly yellow bowl.

All mixed up!

Pour the wet ingredients in the well of the dry ingredients.

And gently mix it up.

Scoop the mixture into your 18 cupcake liners. I used an ice cream scooper to minimize the mess.

Top with the cream cheese mixture, which of course is the best part.

And then add the streusel topping.

And then bake them! They sure look and smell good.

After a few minutes, I scooped them out with a spoon and let them finish cooling on wire racks.

I had no idea until now that this was my only picture of them being cut open and eaten. It is dark and blurry. I blame the deliciousness and the sugar from keeping me from being able think clearly or to take a decent photograph. Please, use your imagination.

Or even better, make your own so that you can see first hand!

Oh, and if you were wondering, using light cream cheese didn’t seem to have an effect on taste. So good!

 

 

P.S. Stay tuned for a guest post from my good friend Jacki! She will be writing about white chicken chili and pumpkin donuts. Can’t wait to see