Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

          I decided to bake some Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins for my son's school's Teacher's Appreciation breakfast. I got up at 5 am and started baking early, so the muffins would be fresh this morning (instead of having to worry about storing them overnight and losing that fresh baked allure). Since I knew I would be short on time in the morning (not to mention tired!), I did some research last night on how to make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and I decided to just experiment this morning by fusing a few recipes together. 

          I took a major shortcut and used Trader Joe's Vanilla Cake Mix and just added a can of Organic Trader Joe's Pumpkin 15 oz. I added a heaping tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie spice mix to the Trader Joe's Vanilla Cake Mix (but you can use  a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves. Add more of each if you like the spices to be stronger. Like I said, I used several shortcuts for these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins because I was short on time and rushing to get these done in the morning before school!). After reading some reviews on basic pumpkin muffins that used this method of just adding a can of pumpkin to a cake mix, I decided to add more things to mine (but you can make this recipe with just a box of cake mix, spices and pumpkin!! Just mix the wet and dry ingredients and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.) Anyway, I added about half a stick of melted unsalted butter to the canned pumpkin and one egg and mixed that together until it was smooth. Then I mixed the pumpkin pie spices with the cake mix and added that to the pumpkin mixture. I then decided to spruce these up a bit and made a cream cheese filling and streusel topping to make them look more cafe-finished and visually appealing. But, you can make these pumpkin muffins without the topping for sure--they just might look like drop biscuits in muffin wrappers, which is definitely okay. I just wanted these to look special for the teachers. 

          Well, when it was time to wake up my slumbering son in the morning, the first thing he said was, "It smells good! I want that smell!" I just had to laugh, thinking to myself, "Gosh, I'm such a bad mom for not waking up at 5 am every day to make him fresh muffins!" He had one for breakfast and said it was good--so, score one point for me for sneaking pumpkin into his diet! Yeah!! 

           Ingredients for Cream Cheese filling and Streusel Topping 

        (Courtesy of allrecipes.com)

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter

1. To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.
2. For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
3. Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

           I'm so glad I learned a new trick today! I love this shortcut for making Pumpkin Muffins = Box of Trader Joe's Vanilla Cake Mix (or any yellow cake mix) and one can of pumpkin 15 oz, and a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice! Mix it all together and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350! Easy! I love having the option to jazz these pumpkin muffins up with a cream cheese filling and streusel topping when time allows for it! Now I feel like Sandra Lee on "Semi-Homemade" on Food Network, using these secret shortcuts but still making it my own by adding a few embellishments!

          I am going to be making these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins more often, now that I know my son likes them. 

          These pumpkin cream cheese muffins will make your house smell so good your kids say "I want that smell!"