Killer Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

It's probably a misnomer to call these "muffins," as they are much more like cupcakes in their similarity to dessert. And, I say "Killer" because they are likely to a) Kill your waistline and b) Torture you with the sight and smell of them. They are THAT good.

I took the recipes of two ladies, and did my own little tweak...you'll see....

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Muffin and Topping adapted from: Annies Eats and Sugar Cooking
Makes 12 regular-size muffins

There's three main steps to this recipe: Cream-cheese filling, muffin base, and crumb topping. Sound rich enough for ya?

For the filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbls flour
  
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffin base:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour *I substituted whole wheat flour (because that somehow balances all the sugar in my mind)
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon*
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg*
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves*
• 1/2 tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*
• *I didn't have cloves or pumpkin pie spice on hand, so I used 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon + the nutmeg - the flavor might be a tad more delicate, but we didn't mind
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbls vegetable oil

For the topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar *I subbed in brown sugar - just my preference for something I want to taste "warm and cozy"
  
• 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, egg, flour and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.
2. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ 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.
   
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended.
   
4. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
5. 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. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
6. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Add a dollop of filling on top. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean. *The cream cheese filling might keep the top of the muffin a bit too gooey, so they might need an extra couple of minutes of bake time.
   

What happens when your toddler is kept at bay from warm, gooey muffins so Mommy can photograph...

Don't worry, she won.

Nutrition Round-Up:
1) Uh...well, there's Pumpkin in them....Pumkin is a good source of Vitamins A & E
via here

Can't say I didn't warn you!