Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Have you ever had one of the pumpkin muffins at Starbucks? I don't usually love cream cheese frosting, but I love it in the middle of these muffins. It just goes together perfectly. A few years ago I got this pumpkin muffin recipe at a church event. It was a healthy holiday recipes workshop, and I've been making these ever since. I just recently added the cream cheese filling and like them now even more. They are probably among the top five most delicious things I can make, and they are incredibly easy (three ingredients? yeah that's easy). Today I'm sharing the recipe with you so you can have strangers stop you in the store to ask how you made those delicious little muffins (yep it's happened; they are that good).  

I usually make these as mini muffins. This recipe makes more than four dozen of the minis, so you can eat a bunch and still share a plate with a neighbor. 

If you want to add the cream cheese filling however, you should make them as regular muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

- 1 box cake mix (yellow, spice, white, really anything but chocolate)*
- 1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
- 1/2 cup water

* add 1/4 cup flour to dry cake mix if at high altitude.
**when making mini muffins I also add 1 egg. I find this makes them even lighter and fluffier, but for the regular muffins you want them to be a little denser (so don't add the egg) if you are going to add the filling.

Directions

Combine dry cake mix, water, and pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Spoon into greased muffin pans.

Bake at 350º 

17-19 min. for mini muffins  

20-25 min. for regular muffins. 

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

- 1 block neufchâtel (cream) cheese (8 oz.) - softened

- 2-3 cups powdered sugar 

- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Use a mixer to mix cream cheese plus one cup of powdered sugar and spices. After completely combined add another cup of the sugar and mix thoroughly. Taste frosting. If desired, add one more cup of sugar. 

To fill muffins: use a frosting bag fitted with a filling tip (it's the long skinny one) to fill regular size muffins with the frosting, inserting the tip one inch, filling and finishing with a little dollop on top. Sprinkle with more pumpkin pie spice if desired. 

This also makes an amazing fall dip for sliced apples.

I hope that you are enjoying beautiful fall weather this week. There's nothing that goes better with crisp air and crunchy leaves than hot coffee and a pumpkin muffins.

Thanks for reading!

- Haley

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