the great pumpkin muffin
with pecan streusel + cream cheese
all the warm spice, soft crumb and rich filling — none of the sad waiting in the pumpkin patch!
Every once in a while, simplicity be damned, more is more!
A healthy dose of moist pumpkin? Check!
Enough spice to get your attention? Check!
Crunchy brown-sugar streusel topping for texture? Check! With pecans (hello, it’s autumn, folks)? Check!
A big dollop of lush cream cheese filling, more tangy than sweet, just to hit every last contrasting flavor option you can possibly pack into one muffin? Check!
It’s a teeny bit more complicated than some of my recipes (sorry about all the bowls), but trust me, it’s well worth it.
products helpful in making this treat
kitchen scale
good all-purpose flour
no-slip mixing bowl set
oven thermometer
muffin pans
tulip liners
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the great pumpkin muffin
with pecan streusel + cream cheese
makes 12-18
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INGREDIENTS
1 + 3/4 cups (228g) good all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup (227g) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (113g) milk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
PECAN STREUSEL
1/2 cup (65g) good all-purpose flour
1/2 light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup (86g) pecans, chopped medium-fine
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
CREAM CHEESE FILLING, optional
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup (38g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
INstructionS
With the rack set to center, preheat the oven to 400º and line 12-18 cups of muffin tin pans. (I recommend making 12 generously sized muffins using tulip liners, or 18 using standard liners.)
In a small bowl, stir together all the streusel toppings except the butter until evenly distributed. Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and toss gently with a fork until moistened and clumping. Set aside.
If using, stir the cream cheese with a silicone spatula or blend with a hand mixer until creamy. Add yolk, sugar, vanilla and salt, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
MAKE THE MUFFINS. In a medium-large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk together the wet ingredients in order, mixing after each addition until fully incorporated.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry with a silicone spatula just until incorporated, but do not overmix.
Pour about 1 inch of batter into the prepared muffin cups. Drop a generous tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into the center of each cup. Spoon the remaining batter among the cups, covering the cream cheese. Lightly stir the streusel to break into chunks and sprinkle the mixture over the muffins.
Place the tin into the oven and lower the temperature to 350. Bake for 20-25 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.
Cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.