Teenie Cakes’ Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Pepita Crunch

Makes 12 muffins

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses (or substitute with maple syrup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or substitute with unsweetened applesauce)
2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin pie filling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

-Cream Cheese Filling (recipe follows)
-Pepita Crunch (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, vegetable oil and 1 egg until combined.  Add the other egg and whisk well.  Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla.  Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk.  Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans.  The batter should fill each muffin well to about the top (this will make a beautiful muffin top).   Prepare a pastry bag with a medium sized round tip for piping and fill the bag with the cream cheese filling.   Place half the tip from the pastry bag in the center of each batter and pump some cream cheese filling in the batter.   You will need to gauge for yourself how much cream cheese filling you want to add.   The idea here is cream cheese filling in the middle with surrounding muffin, not a cream cheese filling muffin stump.    Sprinkle some of the pepita crunch on top of each muffin.

Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles from both the mix AND the cream cheese filling (note: this is important because if there are air bubbles in the cream cheese filling, it will sink when the muffins are cooling).

Place filled muffin pan in oven and turn the temperature down to 375 degrees.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted off center of muffin comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes then gently loosen and lift out of muffin pan.  Cool completely on a rack.

This recipe is used in a Carole Walter’s recipe unrelated to these muffins. It’s a perfect compliment for these pumpkin muffins. The lemon zest brings out the flavors so don’t omit it. The ingredients calls for farmer cheese which I could not find in my local markets so I substituted plain, lowfat, small curd cottage cheese.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
4 ounces plain, lowfat small curd cottage cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk (reserve egg white for the pepita crunch – recipe follows)
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract

Place a food mill over a large bowl and sieve the cream cheese and cottage cheese through the mill (you could also use a potato ricer or large gauge strainer).  This ensures a smooth and creamy filling.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.  Chill for at least 1 hour before using.

Note: If you don’t have a food mill or potato ricer, work the cheeses with a fork.  You want to break up the curd and assure a creamy consistency to the cheese filling.

Leftover filling should be refrigerated in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days , or frozen for up to 3 months.

Pepitas are seeds from a squash.   This is easy and quick.   I doubled the recipe when making for the muffins because I don’t mind a little more than a sprinkle and they are tasty nibbles.  You can refrigerate the unused portion and use for later.

1 large egg white (reserve yolk for cream cheese filling)
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup pepitas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar.  Add the pepitas, tossing to coat well with the egg/sugar mixture.  Pour into the prepared cookie sheet and spread evenly in a single layer.  Sprinkle 1 more tablespoon of the sugar over the pepitas.  Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, stir the pepitas with a fork and bake for another 7 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir the pepitas, sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar, and bake for another 3 minutes.   The pepitas’ coating should be a nice golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Break up any clusters with your fingertips and set aside.

• Muffin/cupcake liners will stick to muffin.
• Muffins taste good warm, but the flavors come out even more when it’s chilled.
• Refrigerating muffin batter before using will assist in forming nicer crowns/tops.
• When making the pepita crunch, save the yolk for the cream cheese filling.
• Don’t forget to tap the muffin pan against the counter in an attempt to remove any air bubbles in both the muffin batter and especially the cream cheese filling that you just pumped into the middle of the muffin. If there are air bubbles, when the muffin cools the filling will sink.