Pumpkin Spice is Always Nice

12 Aug, 2011Featured, Sinfully Delicious

First let me start out by saying that I do realize that it is still only August and that Fall and Fall-like weather are not really that close to being here. BUT, the closer September gets, the more I get to think about one of my favorite things, pumpkins. Pumpkins are not only fun for everyone in the fact that you can pick them and carve them, but they also taste delicious. I have such a weakness for pumpkins, especially the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. The only thing better than that is drinking it along with one of their pumpkin muffins. Seriously, if you want to get into the spirit of Fall, then you definitely need to have one (or three) of those sensational muffins. This past weekend though I became a bit impatient and so I decided that I needed a pumpkin muffin immediately. So I dug up some recipes and created and adapted them to make the closest thing to a Starbucks pumpkin muffin with cream cheese that I possibly could. Let’s cook it up, shall we?

What You’ll Need:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin (YUM!)
1 1/4 vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese
Pumpkin Seeds (optional)

What You’ll Do:

Preheat your oven to 350° and place the cream cheese on parchment paper and roll it into a log. Put the cream cheese into the freezer while you are working on the next few tasks. Line your muffin tin with baking cups.
In a mixing bowl mix all of the ingredients (minus the pumpkin seeds and cream cheese).
Fill the muffin cups 1/2 full.
Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and cut “disks” that are equivalent to around 2 teaspoons so they are ready to be pushed into the batter.
Press the cream cheese down int he middle of the batter in the muffin pan and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
Bakes your muffins for around 25 minutes until the edges are firm around the outside.
Let the muffins cool completely and enjoy!

Now I can get my pumpkin fix throughout the year. I’m still waiting for my Pumpkin Spice Latte though…