Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I was looking through some cooking blogs the other day and I came across this recipe for pumpkin cream cheese muffins. I've already admitted I am a little pumpkin obsessed this time of year, so when I saw the recipe I knew I had to try it. And oh my, I think I have found a new vice in life. These are SO GOOD. Sean says they are the best muffins he's ever had, and I believe him because he's wolfing them down as fast as I am. I've tried limiting my intake to two of these per day, because let's face it, muffins are really just cupcakes masked with a different name to make it ok for you to eat them for breakfast. Anyway, if you're a fan of pumpkin anything, do yourself a favor and make these! I followed the recipe exactly, except I omitted the ground cloves. Why? Because both my mom and sister claim they are pretty strong and I didn't feel like shelling out $8 for them!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield: 24 muffins
Ingredients:
For the muffins:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 ¼ 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:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup and 1 tsp. flour
4 tbsp. butter, cubed
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
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 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.

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.

To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350°. 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.