Pumpkin muffins

We had a cold rainy fall day a couple of days ago. So I decided to make some fall treats. I made crumb topped pumpkin cream cheese muffins, chocolate fudge scones and a roasted pumpkin caramelized onion and Gorgonzola quiche. Everything was soooo good! Today I`ll be sharing the muffins with you, but I`m sure I will share the scones and quiche with you all soon!


Crumb topped pumpkin cream cheese muffins
p.s The ingredients in parentheses are the ways I adapted the recipe to make them healthier.

Muffins
3 cups flour ( 2c. flour and 1c. whole wheat flour)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom (I left this out, I did not have any)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar( 1 1/2 c. honey)
2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil ( 3/4 c. applesauce and 1/2 coconut oil)

Cream Cheese Filling
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. To make the cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the melted butter, then pinch the mixture until it forms pea-size clumps. Set aside.
Mix muffin ingredients together except cream cheese filling. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) 3/4 full. Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese filling in each muffin and lightly swirl (I used a plastic bag snipped as a pastry bag). Top with 1 generous tablespoon of topping.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Makes 24 muffins.