The Best Pumpkin Muffins. Ever.

Even though it isn't any where near close to feeling like fall, or even Indian Summer here in TX, the years I've spent away have started a new internal clock for fall and fall related items, and anything pumpkin.  I love my family pumpkin bread recipe.  I love pumpkin spice lattes.  Pumpkin cheesecake at Olive Garden. So I wanted to make a pumpkin muffin.  And I also wanted to incorporate sugared pecans.  So this is what I came up with - a cream cheese filled pumpkin muffin topped with struesel and sugared pecans.  It is about as close to heaven as you can get (if that you believe in that kinda thing) I think.


For the sugared pecans I made them in advance, cooked the full time, and added in to the top of the muffins about 10 min in to cooking.  I would really recommend cooking the pecans (for this recipe only!) about 10-15 minutes and then adding in with the struesel topping and cooking the full length of muffins.


You will also want to prep your cream cheese filling and throw it in to the freezer in advance... works much better that way.


Sugared Pecans
(this will make a lot of pecans, if you want to keep them around and snack - I recommend chopped for the muffins, halve for snacking.)


Ingredients:
2 cups pecans
1 egg white
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar


Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 
Combine all dry ingredients, mix well set aside. 
Combine all wet ingredients, mix until egg white is slightly foamy.  Add pecans.  Stir to mix well, making sure all pecans are completely coated.  Slowly stir in the dry mixture and coat pecans well.
Place pecans on a greased sheet of aluminum foil.  Cook for 15 minutes, stir.  Cook another 15 min if not adding to muffins.


Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese filling
Make about 24


Cream Cheese filling (make first!!)
Ingredients
8 oz packaged cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar - sifted


Directions
Combine cream cheese in a med-large bowl and blend with an electric mixer until smooth.
Place in foil or plastic wrap and put in freezer for about an hour (or for the time you are prepping the rest of the muffins - it needs to be semi soft)




Struesel Topping 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp flour
4 tbsp butter (cubbed then slightly softened)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon


Directions
Combine all ingredients together and mix with forks until cumbly.


Pumpkin Muffins
Preheat oven to 350


Ingredients
3 cups flour, sifted 3 times
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves 
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
2 cups sugar
1 can pumpkin puree (I use Liby's, 15 oz can)


Directions
Combine the flour (make sure to sift it!), spices, salt, and baking soda and mix with an electric mixer - set aside.
In a new bowl for add sugar and oil.  Mix well on low until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
Add pumpkin and mix well.
Slowly add the dry mixture and mix on med until well blended.


Line the muffin pan.  Remove cream cheese mix from freezer.  Make 24 equal portions of the cream cheese mix.  Fill the cups about half full with the muffin mix, then add the cream cheese and fill the cup with muffin mix on top.  Add the struesel mix and pecans to the top of muffins.  
Bake for 20-25 min.

Muffins with filling in half the cup

Finished muffins