You heard me darn it!!! I’ll fight and scream and kick and wail loudly if any tells me that it is time to stop using pumpkin in my cooking because Autumn is over. Give me Pumpkin or give me death. Ok, just give me more pumpkin.

Seriously though, I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never been one to cook by the seasons. I mean sure, we have more salads, fruits and veggies and grilled foods in the warmer months but that’s not because it’s trendy and seasonal (have I mentioned that rebellious I hate being a conformist thing?) but because it’s the only time of the year we can afford decent fresh produce and because there are constant sales on meat. That being said, I admit it; I make pumpkin cranberry bread in the middle of Summer as well as roast turkeys then (I have a slight turkey addiction) and I have been sighted like Bigfoot, grilling in January (hmmm; do you tihnk Bigfoot grills out?). I don’t know… it’s just always seemed silly to me to give up the foods I love because according to tradition, you don’t cook certain things when it’s cold or others when it’s hot. Mind you, I also admit that I can’t bring myself to make, say, a pecan pie unless it’s the holidays. Somehow that one seems meant for the holidays and ONLY the holidays.

So what do I have for you today? I have some yummy Pumpkin Cheesecake Streusel Muffins. They originally came from
Annies Eats . I think I’ve mentioned before that I absolutely love her blog. This lady has two kids, is also a doctor yet still finds time to keep up with a well written food blog and make things that leave me drooling. She puts me to shame.

I haven’t changed the original recipe a whole lot though I named them differently (seems only polite) and differed on a few ingredients as well as method. I’m sure her’s were a thousand times better but what is a recipe for but to put ones own style on it? No matter what though, I think you’ll love these. They are sweet and not overly spiced and are even better the next day. They’re a perfect breakfast or dessert muffin.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Streusel Muffins

• Filling-
• 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Muffin-
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg (use freshly grated if you have it. It makes such a difference.)
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable or canola oil
• Topping- (I actually used some left over streusel I had frozen)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold

1. For the filling- Combine the cream cheese,powdered sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside while you make the muffins.
2. Make your topping- In a small bowl, using a pastry cutter or fork, combine the topping ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set in the fridge until ready to use.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Either grease 24 muffin cups or line them with paper or foil liners.
4. In a medium bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour through baking soda) and mix well.
5. In a large bowl combine the remainder of the muffin ingredients (eggs through pumpkin). Mix well on medium speed.
6. Dump your dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed, just until combined. Remember; never over beat muffins or quick bread. You’ll get tough muffins with a lot of tunnels through them..
7. Fill each muffin cup with just enough batter to cover the bottom. Then Then top each cup with a small spoonful of the cheesecake mixture. Fill the muffin cups with the rest of the batter. I ended up with 24 muffins and two mini loaves.
8. Sprinkle each muffin with a small amount of the streusel topping.
9. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and the tops don’t look moist, about 25 to 30 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool.