Pumpkin cream cheese muffins

I’ll admit that Starbucks has delicious pumpkin cream cheese muffins - but they are expensive! (And addictive!)  You can easily make your own and bring them to work or school with you and enjoy them as an afternoon treat. This recipe below comes from Canadian living, although I recently found another recipe at Recipe Zaar that I would like to try.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped walnut halves

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

MAPLE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 vanilla

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger,cloves and nutmeg; mix in 1/4 cup of the walnuts.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree, oil and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients.  Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Spoon into prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle with remaining walnuts.  Bake in centre of 375 degree oven until golden and tops are firm to the touch, 20-35 minutes.  let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes.  Transfer to rack; let cool. To fill the muffins with the delicious icing, we cut the tops using a paring knife on an angular slant. The we put a dollop of the icing and squished the muffin top closed.  We found that the muffins were even better eaten after being chilled in the fridge

Someone else enjoyed the muffins, too.  Or the icing at least.

There you have it - an easy muffin recipe, eliminating your need for expensive treats at Starbucks!  Take one (or two) in your lunchbag or enjoy in the morning with a coffee.

*UPDATE* - To see a better way of filling the muffins, see my “Muffin Update”