Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 Ingredients

For the filling
 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
 1 cup powdered sugar

For the muffins
 3 cups all-purpose flour
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1 teaspoon ground cloves
 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon baking soda
 4 large eggs
 2 cups sugar
 2 cups pumpkin puree (or a 15 oz can will work fine)
 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

For the topping
 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 5 tablespoons flour
 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Instructions
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.

In the bowl of an electric mixer 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 just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. (My batch made 28 muffins for some reason.) Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process.

Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

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