I like pumpkin, and I don’t care who knows it. If that makes me basic, I’m totally fine with that. The last thing I want to be is a Kardashian. Too much makeup, who knows how much plastic surgery, and endless self-worship? Is that what we’re considering interesting these days? Sign me up for not that.
Just leave me alone with my pumpkin spice chai, my Isadora Duncan scarves and my Joni Mitchell albums and let me do my YouTube yoga in peace. I’ll be as basic as I want to be. Except now that I think about it, I might even be too weird to be basic. Can you still be basic if you’re jamming to the Flaming Lips on the subway on your way to theatre jazz class at the age of practically 40? I don’t know. Just give me a damn muffin.
Guys, these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are ridiculous. They’re a triple threat. You’ve got your moist, sweet, and spicy pumpkin muffin action, then there’s the sweet and crunchy crumb topping, and hidden inside is a hit of creamy sweet cream cheese that just takes it right over the top.
All this awesomeness means there are a few components to bring together which might make it seems a bit fiddly, but I assure you, it’s all quite simple. Maybe don’t attempt this before you’ve had your first cup of tea or coffee, but if you give yourself some time, you can definitely accomplish this. Also, don’t panic if some of your cream cheese erupts out while they’re in the oven. Everything’s gonna be fine.
Look kids, just be whoever you are, and do whatever you want to do. And eat pumpkin cream cheese muffins whenever you can.
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 150 ml vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2-1/2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, in chunks
- Mix together the cream cheese and powdered sugar in whatever way you want until smooth. I used an electric hand mixer to bring it together quickly.
- Pour your cream cheese mixture onto some plastic wrap and carefully mold it into a cylinder about an inch and a half in diameter. Carefully wrap up your cream cheese log in the plastic plus a layer of foil. Stash this in the freezer for about two hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and line your muffin cups with your favorite paper.
- In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Give it a whisk to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until fully combined. Turn your mixer down to low, and slowly add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl by squishing it all together with a pastry cutter, fork, or clean fingers. You want a rough, oatmeal like texture. Stash it in the fridge until you're ready for it.
- To assemble your muffins, start by adding about a tablespoon of muffin batter to the bottom of each muffin cup. Spread it a bit to make sure that the bottom of each cup is completely covered.
- Next, take your cream cheese log out of the freezer and cut it into 12 even discs. Place on cold cream cheese disc into each muffin cup.
- Evenly divide the remaining batter between the 12 cups. Try to completely cover the cream cheese if you can.
- Finally, evenly distribute your topping over each muffin. It might seem like too much topping. Trust me, it's not.
- Pop your muffins into the oven for about 25 minutes. Give them a little more time than you normally would because you've put something frozen in the center. It's tricky to test them because of the filling. Use your baking instincts. 25 minutes was perfect for me.
- Allow the muffins to cool a little bit longer than you might normally so that you don't burn your face off on molten cream cheese. Because of the pumpkin, these stay moist for days.
