Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Muffins

I made

these for

breakfast

this morning.

And

with my

first bite

I was

literally

saying

to myself

how good

they were.

Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Muffins

Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake & Annie Eats

For Cream Cheese:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powder sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla

For the muffins:
1 cup flour
1 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 plus 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/6 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp vanilla


For the topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon


1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Cream Cheese Filling: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla, and blend to combine. Form the mixture into a log on a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it, and freeze it for about an hour.

3.  Topping: In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl.

5. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vanilla.

6. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour the pumpkin mixture into the well. Mix with a fork just until moistened.

7. Remove the cream cheese from the freezer, and divide it into 12 slices.

8. Fill the muffin cups with 1/3 batter. Place 1 slice of the cream cheese log right in the center of each cup, pressing the cream cheese gently into the batter without submerging it. 

9. Sprinkle some of the streusel on top of each muffin.

10. Bake until golden, about 23 - 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.