sugar and spice and everything nice!

Is there anything better than pumpkin and spice in the fall? Is there anything better than cream cheese ever!? Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are a huge hit and one of my new favorite recipes! Hubby loved them, friends loved them, family at reunion this weekend loved them and all I can say is wow, I wish I could take all the credit! The recipe yields about 24 muffins so they are perfect for fall gatherings, Thanksgiving, school parties, or just to stuff yourself at home. :) It probably sounds like I'm trying to sell these, but they really just sell themselves. Make them and you'll see what I mean! ;) Thank you, Annie's Eats for this amazing recipe!

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Annie's Eats

For the muffins:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. & 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup and 1 tsp. flour
4Tbsp. butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

STEP 1: To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth. Form into a log on a plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan. Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, 1-2 hours. 
STEP 2: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
STEP 3: To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly. 
STEP 4: Line two muffin pans with paper liners. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter. Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and slice into 24 equal slices. Place a slice in each muffin well. Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.