Pumpkin + Cream Cheese Muffins

October came + went in a snap for us, but I managed to sneak in some last minute Halloween baking with these Pumpkin + Cream Cheese Muffins, and I honestly just felt accomplished. Like by completing this one pumpkin focused bake, I did Halloween right. And good thing I feel so happy about these - I put all of my actual responsibilities on pause to make this happen, felt a tinge silly that this was how I was spending my time, but it made for a fun morning at home. A nice cup of coffee + a fresh out of the oven, soft + steamy muffin. It was perfection.

Breakfast is something we make so rarely at our house. Especially a weekday breakfast. It may happen 3 times a year at best. But when we do have it, it’s such a treat. A warm cup of coffee (part of our regular morning routine) and a true breakfast “snack” - it’s just fun every now and then, and feels special when we do make it happen. And this Halloween holiday felt like the perfect time to carve out a moment for breakfast. It was a delightful way to start the day, and dressing up the dogs (for the 5 minutes it lasted) was a great way to end the day, and feel like we fully appreciated Halloween.

 
 

Not too sweet

Jordan said they even leaned on the savory side. I’m not so sure I’d go that far, especially since they’re finished with a hefty dose of cinnamon sugar on top, but they definitely aren’t cloyingly sweet. They’re balanced, they really taste like pumpkin, and they’ve got lots of spices mixed.

Aside from the cinnamon sugar on top, the only sweetener is maple syrup. Pumpkin + maple - a focus on Fall flavors + they turned out so good.

A win for flavor and the pantry

One reason I love this bake - it uses 1 full can of pumpkin. No more. No less. Just one full can. And I love that because I literally hate not using the whole can once it’s open. For us at our house, it leads to a tuperware with a scant amount of pumpkin that never gets used for anything + may or may not grow a little mold tucked away in the corner of the fridge, and the whole debacle ends with me throwing away the pumpkin + tuperware. But tangent over, and point being that a full can gets used here. It means a hefty dose of pumpkin flavor (love) + no weird leftovers.

 
 

Be generous with the cream cheese

This was my only take-away for these bakes - add more conservative. I was conservative with my first batch, and they tasted great but just didn’t feel as robust as they could be. I really amped it up on my second batch, and the ratio I really like was filling the muffin tray 70% full with batter + 20% with cream cheese to fill the tins 90% of the way. It was heaven!y.

For the muffins

  • 1 stick of melted butter

  • 1 can of pumpkin puree

  • 1/2 c. maple syrup

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 heaping tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp ginger

  • 1/8 tsp cloves

  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg

  • 1 1/2 c. flour

  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

  • 2 tbsp candied ginger pieces, minced

  • 8 ounces of cream cheese

For the cinnamon sugar topping

  • 1/4 c. candied ginger pieces, minced

  • 1 heaping tbsp sugar

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter + pumpkin until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla + maple, and then beat in the eggs until you have a smooth mixture. Mix in the spices. Add in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda - beating until you have no clumps. At the end, stir in the ginger.

Separate the batter among the baking tins - filling each tin about 70% full with batter. Add enough cream cheese to each to fill the the tins up 90% of the way. Finish with a generous sprinkling of the cinnamon sugar over the top. Bake them for about 20 minutes.

Eat warm with a nice cup of coffee. Freeze any extras!

Lesley ZehnerComment