Ingredients
Scale
- 1 block (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups cooked, puréed pumpkin (one 15 or 16-ounce can) – See Tip
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
- 3 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch cardamom
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 24 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners (I recommend the liners).
- Place the cream cheese block between two pieces of wax paper and roll to slightly flatten, so that it’s around 4 inches by 6 inches. Freeze.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the sugar, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, salt and baking soda. Add to the egg mixture all at once and stir just until blended – do not overmix.
- Fill the muffin tins around 3/4 full (I like to use a large spring-loaded ice cream scoop).
Remove cream cheese from the freezer and cut into 24 1-inch squares. Push one square into the middle of each muffin. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of chopped pecans over the top of each. - Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin (not into the cream cheese) comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan; remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Note that the cream cheese will be very hot initially.
Notes
High Altitude: Reduce the baking soda by 1/8 teaspoon, increase the vegetable oil by 2 tablespoons and use extra large eggs.
- Category: breakfast and brunch, breads, muffins
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: fall
