pumpkin cream cheese muffins

ingredients

for the filling:

• 8 ounces 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 + 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1.25 cups vegetable oil

for the topping:

• .5 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

notes

a standard sized can of pumpkin puree is 15 ounces, just shy of 2 cups (16 ounces). you could open another can if you want and freeze the extra or just use one can. the one ounce shouldn't make too much of a difference in the final product.

an electric mixer would come in handy in step 2 of preparation, but it is not necessary.

preparation

1. to prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. transfer to the freezer while preparing the rest of the batter. the mixture should firm up a bit. if you are making these in steps and have a long time before you're assembling, just chill the mixture in the fridge so it doesn't freeze all the way.
2. to make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 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. combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. mix until blended. while mixing slowly, add in the dry ingredients and keep mixing until incorporated.
3. 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 two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. if you get impatient and start using your hands to mix, it might have the texture of wet sand instead. that's okay. transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.
4. to assemble the muffins, fill each muffin with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). place a scoop of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. you want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise 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.
5. bake for 20-25 minutes. transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.