Going to give apples the weekend off. Don’t worry, I will be putting them back to work soon. This week pumpkin is tapping in! That’s right – everyone’s fall favorite flavor or least one of my fall favorite flavors! Now, I don’t do the pumpkin spice latte, but I do enjoy pumpkin flavors in applications from savory to sweet! For this week though, we are going a sweet traditional treat! My Gluten and Dairy Free Pumpkin Cream “Cheese” Muffins! Cinnamony, pumpkiny, cream “cheesy” breakfast beauties!
Have you heard; I love fall? Well I do, I love the seasons, except that one between winter and spring. Remember, the it’s too frickin’ freezing out and I can’t feel my face season. Any who, tis the season for all things pumpkin. Some people may go over the deep end. I am not one of those people. I stay safely in the up to my neck end. I don’t go too avant-garde with the big orange guy, but I do like incorporating in a few different ways. I think though, my favorite way to use it is in sweeter applications. I say this as I am developing a savory recipe to share with you, but all in all, I lean towards the sweet side of the pumpkin personality.
This is my first muffin post! Don’t know how I haven’t shared or baked a muffin recipe until now. But these sure are a good start. The tender and moist (yes, moist) muffin is loaded with pumpkin pie flavor and spice, along with a nice kick of cinnamon! The pumpkin puree in the batter really lends to the moisture of this muffin. The cream “cheese” center is made with Kite Hill Almond Cream Cheese Style Spread, along with Kite Hill Almond Greek style yogurt, to make that perfect creamy cheese like tang. The piece de resistance is that crumb topping that is more cinnamon, sugar, spice and everything nice, including some pecans, because they’re nice too. When you put it all together you get one good mother of a fall muffin!
Just look at that muffin top! No wonder Elaine and Mr. Lippman in Seinfeld started the just muffin tops business! Top of the Muffin to You! 😉 Haha, although, the stump of these babies are just as good as that glorious top! Waste not want not.
Just the right amount of that cream “cheese” filling to add that extra depth of flavor that pairs oh so well with all those pumpkiny and cinnamony notes.
Let’s jump in this weekend up to our necks in pumpkin! You are sure to get into the fall spirit with one bite of these breakfast beauties, or lunch or dinner or snack beauties…. hey it’s the weekend! You will be thinking orange all week and will put these in your permanent fall rotation. They will carry you right on through the holidays. Which by the way will be here before you know it!
Happy Weekending!
Diane
- For the Muffins:
- 2¼ cups gf flour (Pamela's GF Artesian Vegan Flour)
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick melted vegan butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 1 ¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp. cardamom
- ½ cup cinnamon bits (King Arthur Cinnamon Sweet Bits)
- Cream "Cheese" Filling:
- 8oz Kite Hill cream cheese style spread
- 3 tbsp. Kite Hill Unsweetened Almond Greek Style Yogurt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar
- Crumb Topping:
- ½ cup gf flour blend
- 4 tbsp. vegan butter cubed
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- For the Crumb Topping:
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the s-blade, add the dry ingredients, sugar and pecans, pulse a few times to blend and chop the nuts.
- Sprinkle the cubed vegan butter over the top. Pulse 20 to 30 times until clumps form. Set aside.
- For the Cream "Cheese" Filling:
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix to combine using a handheld mixer until smooth. Set aside while you prepare the muffins.
- For the Muffins:
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a cupcake pan with 12 liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine and whisk all of your dry ingredients and spices. Add the cinnamon bits and stir to incorporate throughout the flour mixture.
- In a separate medium bowl, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree and apple cider vinegar. Whisk until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Add the melted vegan butter in two batches and mix to fully incorporate. Batter will be thick.
- Add around ⅛ of cup of the batter to the bottom of each of the liners, smooth with off-set spatula or knife. Next add a heaping tablespoon of the cream "cheese" mixture on top of the batter, smooth gently. Using tablespoon cookie scoop, top each of the cream "cheese" filling with more batter. You will get about one and half scoops on top. Smooth out batter gently with off-set spatula or knife.
- Last add the crumble generously over each of the muffins.
- Bake on the center rack for 20 to 25 minutes rotating half-way through. Remove from oven when toothpick inserted comes out with only a few moist crumbs on it.
- Allow to cool in the pans on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on rack. Store at room temp in airtight container for one day or in the fridge for up to three.
- Enjoy!
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