Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Tired of reading an autobiography when all you want to do is eat?

Just recipes...really...

Ingredients

Muffin:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 T pumpkin spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 T vanilla extract

Cheesecake Topping:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prep muffin tin with non-stick parchment paper cups.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk first 4 muffin ingredients together until combined.

3. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Beat in eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

4. Slowly mix dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until there are no lumps. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.

5. In a medium bowl, beat cheesecake topping ingredients together until well combined. Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter.
(Pro-tip: I used a heaping teaspoon of cheesecake topping per muffin, because some folks in our family aren't big cheesecake fans. I also had trouble swirling with just a toothpick, so next time I might just fold this into the pumpkin batter before pouring into the cups.)

6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: 18 standard muffins

Pro-tip: Pair these muffins with a cup of coffee in the morning, and you are bound to have a great day. Store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for best results. Serve at room temperature, or slightly chilled. But I think they are best straight out of the oven!

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