I had a ton of pumpkin puree left over from making my Pumpkin Molasses Cookies yesterday. My sweet husband came home from the bank today and told me that he saw Starbucks had a pumpkin cream cheese muffin, just in case I needed any inspiration. I pondered for a few minutes, looked around at some of the food bloggers' sites, didn't find too much. I found a recipe eventually at King Arthur Flour for Inside Out Pumpkin Muffins, and decided, with a few tweeks, to give them a try. My husband things that putting the frosting in the muffin or cupcake is actually the recipe for the perfect cake to frosting ratio, in a lovely little package, so I put the frosting on the inside as the original recipe called for, and named them Stuf'fins, for Stuffed-Muffins :) Cute, right? Yea, I know, I am full of witty naming conventions.
I had so much pumpkin I decided to do a double batch. Well, after getting the first batch in the oven, I sat down to write this post, and realized I never put the brown sugar in them. I never forget ingredients usually! Ugh. So when they came out, I gave them a try. YUCK! Muffins need sweetener, that is all I have to say. So, in to the trash they went, and I added the brown sugar to the rest of the batter that was left, and gave it a good mix. As I write this, I am waiting with baited breath to see if they tasted better. Because of the substitutions I made, they are not a high rising muffin, due to the fact that I subbed applesauce for the oil, but I just wanted to see if I could make them a bit more waist line friendly. If you want the richness of the oil, then by all means, add the oil instead of the apple sauce. The verdict: Needs more sugar, still. And oil. So, I have made those corrects, bumped up the spices a bit, and now I am more confident these will be tasty little morsels. And don't worry if they sink in the top when they cool, it won't affect the taste one bit.
And one last thing I learned while making these....when the recipe says to spray the muffin liners, do it. I learned that the hard way today too. It was just one big lesson on learning the hard way. Oh well, sometimes baking is like that. Live and learn, and then bake some more!
Pumpkin Pie Stuf'fins
(Adapted from King Arthur Flours Inside-Out Pumpkin Muffins)
Makes 12-14 regular muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 ounces) puréed pumpkin (about half of a 15-ounce can)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (or unsweetened apple sauce, but it will affect texture and rise)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1-1/2 tablespoons molasses
1-1/2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed (or more light corn syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) milk, soy milk, or almond milk
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) All-Purpose or White Whole Wheat Flour
Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers, and spray with non stick spray.
- To make the batter: Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, apple sauce, apple juice concentrate,corn syrup, salt, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and milk. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour and mix until well combined.
- To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds, or until soft enough to be able to mix in the sugar. Stir in the sugar and flavor.
- Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom. Dollop on a tablespoon of filling, then cover with another 2 tablespoons of batter.
- Bake the standard muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out crumb-free. Remove from the oven. Transfer them to a rack to cool.
