Thanksgiving is all about the food, and while I'm a stickler for classic dishes, I also love finding other Thanksgiving-themed things to make throughout November. I also tend to coordinate the muffins I bake with the season or holiday. With all this in mind, I've made two batches of muffins this week: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins and Pecan Pie Muffins.
I made the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins on Sunday night, and while it was a more complicated recipe, it was definitely worth it. They were delicious. I had to restrain myself from eating them all that night. I took them into school on Monday, and everyone at my lunch table agreed that this was definitely a recipe to repeat. One of my friends was still talking about them today.
I found the recipe at
The Girl Who Ate Everything. Like I said, it's a time-consuming recipe, but well worth it. I did find that it didn't make as many muffins as it said it would, at least not at the size I wanted; the recipe said it made 24, but I only had enough batter and filling to make 18.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Makes 18 Muffins
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
1 and 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons of floor
1 and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Filing:
Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix until blended and smooth.
Muffins:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
3. Mix eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil. Add the dry ingredients.
Topping:
1. Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add butter pieces with a pastry blender or fork until mixture is coarse and crumbly.
Assembly:
Fill the muffin pans with a small amount of batter, a spoonful of cream cheese, and then fill the rest of the way with batter. Make sure you have enough batter on top that the cream cheese filling won't poke through when the muffins rise. Sprinkle topping on the top of each muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
These muffins are delicious warm, but are just as good cold or at room temperature, so eat them however you like.
I found the Pecan Pie Muffins on the same site while I was looking at the Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin recipe, and it was surprisingly much simpler to make. I was able to throw these muffins together in a matter of fifteen minutes last night after I put my pumpkin pies in to bake. The batter is thinner and looks (and tastes) a lot like caramel before you bake it because of the brown sugar. They're sticky, so make sure you use muffin tin liners or grease the pan well. These turned out really great, too; my family raved about them this morning.
Pecan Pie Muffins
Makes 8 Muffins
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat butter and eggs together, then stir in dry ingredients. Bake for 15-17 minutes.
Hope you enjoy the muffins if you try them, and have a happy Thanksgiving!
~blackandwhitedreamer
