Catastrophe Kitchen | Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

There are few things more enjoyable on a crisp fall day than a soft sweater, a hot cup of coffee, and a pumpkin spice muffin. This version bakes up surprisingly light and full of pumpkin spice, with a creamy cheesecake filling and crunchy streusel that pushes them over the top from boring to a bona fide autumn treat. (You can make them with or without the cream cheese filling and the streusel, but I'd recommend going for it all.)Enjoy them for breakfast, brunch, or dessert, or have one with coffee as a mid-morning pick-me-up. This recipe makes two dozen muffins, so go ahead and freeze some in plastic zip-top bags if that's too many for you-- or give some to your neighbors and friends and make everyone's day. Aside from the fuss of using three bowls, this really is an easy recipe to whip up.Here's what you'll need:For the muffins:1 can pumpkin puree (15oz.)3/4 C milk1/3 C oil2 eggs3 C flour3/4 C sugar (brown, white, or a combo of both)2 t baking powder1/2 t salt2 t cinnamon1 t nutmeg1/2 t ginger1/4 t cloves1/4 t mace (optional)Cream cheese filling:8 oz. cream cheese1/2 C sugar1 egg1 t vanilla1 T flourStreusel:1/2 C flour1/2 C brown sugar1/2 t cinnamon1/2 stick (1/4 C) butterEquipment: 2 muffin tins, cupcake liners, 3 bowlsTurn your oven on to 400F and line your muffin tins with cupcake papers (bonus points if you have Halloween liners like I did).Start by measuring all of the streusel ingredients into one bowl. With clean hands or a pastry cutter, rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients. It will not be homogenous, but dry and shaggy, with small bits of butter, like this:Set the streusel aside.In another bowl, add your cream cheese filling ingredients and mix together. It's best to use an electric mixer to combine this for about a minute, until it is smooth and fluffy. My mixer was not working, so I used a spoon, and mine didn’t get 100% combined.Good enough, but not as good as it COULD be. Yours should be fluffier! Set the cream cheese batter aside, as well.Add the pumpkin puree, milk, oil, and eggs to a third bowl and whisk them together. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix just until completely combined.Add a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin batter to each cupcake liner. Follow up with a tablespoon of cream cheese batter (you should use it all in this step, so if you have leftover cream cheese just add more to the liners until you're out).Follow that with the rest of the pumpkin batter.Top each muffin with a tablespoon of the streusel mix-- feel free to kind of squish it into the batter if you're worried about it falling all over. Don't worry if some of it falls onto the tin, though-- my tins looked like this and they cleaned up easily.Pop the tins into the oven, and let the muffins bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the streusel topping is turning dark brown in spots, like this:When the muffins are done, pull them out and transfer to a wire rack to cool so they don't continue baking in the hot pans.I'm assuming these muffins keep for a few days in an airtight container, but mine only lasted two days before they were gone! They're best the first day, but also good on day two. If you’re keeping them longer, do so in the freezer and leave out to thaw before eating.Enjoy your taste of fall!