Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Gold Muffin Liners! Over the last few days, I've been thinking about adding cream cheese as one of my favorite food groups. However, I realized it would be a slippery slope - and would have to add butter, chocolate, and cheese as their own food groups too. . . you understand how things would get complicated. One thing that remained simple and delicious was this recipe. Plus, I was on the hunt for new baking goodies and found these awesome gold muffin liners! Bonus! If you haven't already, you should check out the blog Annie's Eats linked below. It's a phenomenal professional blog that I often get some of my cooking inspiration from. With practice I hope to get better with everything with my own blog! I'm so glad that you've been following along and maybe even passing on some recipes to your friends :) Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Adapted from http://annies-eats.net/ Makes 24 muffins. Ingredients: Filling: 8 oz. softened cream cheese 1 cup confectioners’ sugar Muffins: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground cloves 1 TBSP plus 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 4 large eggs 2 cups sugar 2 cups pumpkin puree 1¼ cups vegetable oil Adding the cream cheese mixture Topping: ½ cup sugar 5 TBSP flour 1½ tsp ground cinnamon 4 TBSP cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces Directions: To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter.  Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil.  Transfer to the freezer and chill. Make sure you let this chill for 4 or more hours - I would suggest doing it the night before to ensure it is well frozen. When I made mine it was a bit of a mess because I only let it chill for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 350.  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.  In a small bowl mix the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil.  Mix on medium-low speed until blended.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. 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. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (about 1/2 TBSP).  Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces.  Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well.  Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.  Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffins. Bake for 25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.  AMAZING. If I had to rate the two pumpkin recipes this week - I'd have to say that I think I like this one more... that cream cheese centre is heaven!  Don't forget your topping!

Pumpkin Scones

If you don't own a tin mug - you should go buy one now before you read any further.  What you will need is the coldest glass of milk to serve with these yummy pumpkin scones.  I've found that a tin mug is the best at keeping that milk super crisp and delish the whole way through!  Also, don't be discouraged if you're looking at your raggedy dough that kind of resembles pate or hamburger meat - it turns out in the end! And don't even think about skimping on the hot caramel sauce topping! 

Pumpkin Scones

Taken from my friend Krista via Alice's tea house in NYC.

Ingredients:

Dough:

3 cups of flour

1/3 cups of white sugar

1/2 tsp of baking soda

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup ginger (fresh grated)

1/4 cup of cinnamon

3/4 cups of cold butter grated into mix

1 1/4 cup of buttermilk

1 cup of pumpkin puree

2 TBSP vanilla

Caramel Sauce:

1 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups of brown sugar

1/2 tsp of lemon juice

1/2 cup half and half cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix together  flour, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, freshly grated ginger, cinnamon, grated butter, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla to form the dough.  The dough is very raggedy and wet! 

Generously flour your counter and knead in an additional 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of flour.

Pat down the dough with your hands to make it approximately 1 inch high.  Cut with biscuit cutters and put on parchment on cookie sheet. If you don't have biscuit cutters use the end of a round glass. Remember it's up to you for how large you want them! I made approximately a dozen.

Bake for 15 minutes. 

As they are baking get started on the sauce:

Over medium meat in a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar and bring to a rapid boil.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of half and half cream.  Return to low heat and stir often until sauce is mixed and smooth.

Remove the pumpkin scones from the oven and let cool slightly.  Pour the caramel sauce into a large plate with a lip on the edge.  Dip each scone into the caramel sauce and cover to your delight. Get that tin mug I warned you about.  Fill with milk and enjoy with a wonderful fall treat!

Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Seeds

I've been eyeing my pumpkin for a couple of weeks now. I couldn't carve it for Halloween.  I let it sit. And it sat some more. I realized that if I let it sit too long whatever goodness inside will go bad.  It was time to do the deed and say farewell to the pumpkin ambience until next fall.

A few recipes that I've been contemplating call for pumpkin puree and I wanted to make the puree myself.  In this segment,  you will find the recipe for a simple puree and a pumpkin seed snack! Baked goods will follow soon!

Pumpkin Puree
Modified from allrecipes.com 


Ingredients:
1 pumpkin (mine was a little big so if yours is smaller cut the baking time in half)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cut the pumpkin in half, stem to base. Remove seeds and pulp. (Save the seeds for the following recipe! )Cover each half with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven, foil side up, 2 hours, or until tender and soft when poked with fork.
Scrape pumpkin meat from shell halves and puree in a blender. 
Strain to remove any remaining stringy pieces. 
Store in the freezer in freezer safe bags.


My yield was about 10 cups so it was a rather large pumpkin. You can use the puree for cooking and baking and it keeps well. You can also use it as baby food - it's pretty bland for our adult taste-buds until it's cooked in something!

• Baked Pumpkin Seeds
  Modified from allrecipes.com
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ingredients:
  Pumpkin seeds washed and dried from one pumpkin (approximately 1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds)
  • 2 teaspoons butter, melted
  • 1 pinch salt
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  • Directions:
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  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. 
  • Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.
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  • Tastes much like buttery popcorn with an extra crunch! Great snack!
  
  
  
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