Sweet Cream Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins~ #MuffinMonday

October 29, 2012 By 25 Comments

What? It’s Monday again? Wasn’t it just Friday, and wasn’t I just sipping on a delicious caramel apple pie martini?

Don’t you just hate how the weekend flies by at lightening speed, while the dreaded work week creeps by at a snails pace? Would it help if I told you I had muffins for you today? Well, I do and they’re quite special.

This week, An let us loose into the wild. She only gave us one rule…make something using pumpkin. That’s it? No recipe? No guidelines? Freedom? As you can imagine, I went a bit wild at first. I love pumpkin, and I wanted to make something special. Something different. I decided to make a pumpkin muffin stuffed with sweet cream cheese and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and a cinnamon sugar crust.

Hello, muffin!

As you read this post, I may be flapping in the wind from the hurricane force winds, soaked to the bones from the relentless rain, or floating down the street in our fishing boat. But, hey, I’ll have these muffins to snack on!

The grocery stores have been packed to the brim with desperate shoppers this weekend, stocking up on bread, toilet paper, and milk in preparation for Sandy. Me, I stocked up on martini and muffin supplies. I suppose our priorities are different.

I just don’t understand the choice of storm staples. Toilet paper, I get (kind of). Bread and milk, not so much. If my power goes out, milk isn’t going to stay fresh. And, honestly, how many sandwiches are you really going to eat? I’m thinking water and canned goods are a better choice.

These muffins are the BEST muffins I have ever had. You get the crunch from the cinnamon sugar and pumpkin seed crust, then you bite into a moist, cakey muffin with the sweet cream filling. Oh, it’s good.

It’s dessert for breakfast.

Enjoy!

5.0 from 4 reviews

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Sweet Cream Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins
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Serves: 12
 

Ingredients
  • Cream Cheese Filling:
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, cold
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • Muffins:
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 3 tbs. honey
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
  • Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with papers.
  2. Cream Cheese Filling:
  3. In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Place the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  4. Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
  5. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, whisk to combine.
  6. Muffins:
  7. In a medium bowl, add whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix to combine.
  8. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, oil, honey, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk.
  9. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk until just combined.
  10. Fill the prepared muffin cups about a third of the way with the batter. Add a half tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture to each tin, then top with the remaining batter.
  11. Top with pumpkin seeds and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
  12. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  13. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

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Pumpkin & Apple Butter Granola

October 25, 2012 By 16 Comments

It’s officially fall in Baltimore. There’s a nip in the air, the leaves are a beautiful shade of bright red orange, the sky is cloudy and gray, I’ve busted out my hoodies and North Face jacket, and I’m still in flip-flops. I know that last bit doesn’t make much sense, but, because of my foot injury, I’m unable to wear my very favorite fall accessory…riding boots.

I own an unhealthy amount of riding boots (unhealthy for my hubs wallet, that is). There are 5 pair of riding boots just sitting in my closet staring me down every morning, pleading to be worn. If riding boots could talk, they’d be saying, “Uh, hello, we’re your favorite fall accessory. Why aren’t you sliding us on over a pair of skinny jeans?” They’re tormenting me. Of course I want to wear them, but my toes scream every time I put them in a pair of shoes. I’ve been walking the earth looking homely for the past few weeks- sweat pants, t-shirts, flip flops, ball cap, and bed head. It’s not a pretty site, people. Now, don’t get me wrong, I heart me some sweat pants and t-shirts, but not every day.

Yesterday was my first day back to work, and you know what I wore…bedroom slippers. That’s right. I wore bedroom slippers to work. We have a strict no flip flop policy at work, so I had to resort to bedroom slippers. I should have slipped on a moo moo to complete the ensemble.

By the way, I made you guys pumpkin and apple butter granola. I’ve done far too much donut snacking, ice cream snacking, and pie snacking while I was out of commission, so I felt it was time to make and eat a healthy snack.

This granola is full of pecans, pumpkin seeds, oats, and golden raisins. All the stuff that’s great for your waist line and good for your heart.

This granola requires little effort to make, but takes a considerable amount of effort to keep your hands out of the granola jar. Every time I walk past the jar, I find myself sneaking a taste.

This granola is very different from my maple nut granola. I like both of them for very different reasons. This granola is a chewier granola. It’s chunkier, making it easier to pluck a pinch and pop it into your mouth. It’s great for snacking.

I also sprinkled it over greek yogurt and drizzled it with some honey for breakfast the other day. Delicious and filling.

Happy Snacking!

5.0 from 2 reviews

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Pumpkin & Apple Butter Granola
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Ingredients
  • 4 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup apple butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, add oats, pecans, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and raisins. Stir to combine.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine pumpkin puree, maple syrup, apple butter, and brown sugar. Cook over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
  4. Pour the mixture over the oat mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until all the oats are evenly coated.
  5. Divide the granola between the two sheet pans and spread evenly.
  6. Bake for 40-50 minutes, tossing with a spatula every 15-20 minutes, until the oats are golden brown.
  7. Place pans on a baking rack and cool completely.
  8. Break the mixture up with your hands and store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

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