Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Muffins

YUM! Muffins fresh outta the oven!

It's a nice and foggy fall morning, it's good to be done school for the week. Although I have a midterm to study for and a painting to start and complete by next week (and other stuff I'd rather not think about right now), I am at home.

As long as I am home and can munch on these delicious pumpkin muffins I'll be able to keep (relatively) sane despite my deadlines.

Aren't these ghosty candles just the cutest?

How is everyone's fall going? And for those who celebrate, are you ready for Halloween? It's scary how fast it's approaching! :O

Just one of the many Halloween decorations to bring a little festive spirit.

This has been a beautiful autumn so far. Has anyone else noticed that the colour of the leaves seem to be extra vibrant this year? There's nothing better than those gorgeous colours!

So in between your busy schedules, which may include preparation for Halloween, I hope you can take some time to savour this beautiful season and bake a pumpkin spice muffin...you'll feel all the more better for it...I know I did.

These muffins are so comforting with a subtle spice-y warmth. The pumpkin seeds and sugar on top give just the right amount of crunch and added sweetness. And the tang of the cream cheese contrasts nicely with everything else that's going on.

 

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Muffins

adpated from nom!nom!nom!

Muf­fin:
2 1/4 cups flour (we used soft whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. bak­ing pow­der
1/4 teas. salt
2 1/2 teas. pump­kin pie spice
1– 15 oz can pump­kin puree (not pump­kin pie mix)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 tbsp. molasses
1/2 teas. vanilla

Fill­ing:
2/3 con­tainer soy cream cheese (we used half but if you like cream cheese add recommended amount)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. plus 2 teas. corn­starch
1/2 teas. vanilla
1 teas. lemon juice

Top­ping:
1/3 cup pump­kin seeds
2 tbsp. coarse sugar

Directions

Pre­heat oven to 400. Line a muf­fin tin with lin­ers or grease lightly. Begin by mak­ing the fill­ing. In a small bowl, using the back of a fork, mix the cream cheese until creamy. In a small bowl or mea­sur­ing cup, com­bine the sugar and corn­starch. Add this mix­ture to the cream cheese. Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix to com­bine. Let fill­ing rest in fridge until ready to use.

In a medium sized bowl, com­bine muf­fin ingre­di­ents start­ing with flour through pump­kin pie spice. In a large bowl, whisk together pump­kin, milk, oil, vanilla and molasses until smooth. Add flour ingre­di­ents in batches until incorporated.

Spoon muf­fin bat­ter into muf­fin tins until just below the rim. Remove fill­ing from fridge and scoop into a pas­try bag with a fat tip. Carefully spoon the cream cheese mixture into the center of each muffin. With this method the cream cheese maybe ooze out of the muffins while baking (see above images for result). You can spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a wide tip for a more polished look. Sprin­kle tops of muffins with pump­kin seeds and coarse sugar.

Bake for 19–21 min­utes for reg­u­lar sized muffins or 27–29 for jumbo muffins, until a tooth­pick comes out of the side of the muf­fin clean and cheese­cake part is puffy and golden.

Yields: 12 reg­u­lar sized or 6 jumbo muffins