Lighter Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

For the last couple of weeks, I've had a serious desire for all things pumpkin and had been especially wanting to bake something pumpkin related.  It was driving me crazy that in all the stores I was looking at, the shelves were bare where there was supposed to be cans of the Golden Autumn Goodness.  I was starting to get desperate.  So it was with great enthusiasm that I spied a 3-pack of canned pumpkin from Costco last week.  Snatched those babies up stat. Then the only dilemma was what to make? 

After scouring recipes for pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins, I was really frustrated.  Why is it that every recipe that sounded good called for several cups of sugar and tons of oil?  I just couldn't bring myself to make something that I would feel so guilty about eating.  I set out to make something that tasted great but lighter and I am thrilled with the results. 

By combining aspects of a couple recipes, I think I captured the best of both worlds, warm and spicy and creamy and full of the Fall flavor I was after yet a fraction of the fat and calories.  Very happy indeed. 

    
Lighter Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins:
(original recipe said it would make 24 muffins, I only got 18)

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 8 ounce brick reduced fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened to room temperature
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar

Lighter Pumpkin Muffin Batter:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)


Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

To prepare filling:
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.  Spread on a piece of plastic wrap in a long log (about 1 1/2" wide and about 12" long).  Smooth the plastic wrap around the cream cheese and reinforce the roll of cream cheese with a piece of foil.  Place in the freezer and chill at least 2 hours or until firm (this is a good step to do the night before). 

To prepare muffins:
Mix together all the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour through ground cloves) in a large bowl.  You can also put all the dry ingredients into a large ziploc bag and shake to combine--also nice to do the night before! : ).

For streusel, mix together sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin cups by lining with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine sugars and eggs and stir with a whisk until smooth.  Stir in vanilla, milk and vegetable oil.  Stir in pumpkin puree and mix until smooth.  In a large bowl, gently stir wet ingredients into the dry mixture just until combined.  


To assemble:
Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling almost completely full.  Remove cream cheese log from freezer and slice into 24 equal pieces.  Place one piece of frozen cream cheese into each muffin cup, pushing it down slightly into the batter.  You can also smooth a little extra batter over top of the cream cheese if you prefer it to be a surprise.

Sprinkle a tiny amount of the streusel mixture over top of each muffin cup of batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until muffins are lightly browned and tops spring back when lightly touched.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. 

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats and The Best of Cooking Light

Best Blueberry Muffins

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with blueberry muffins.  Even though they sound so appealing, just about every blueberry muffin I've come across in stores or coffee shops remind me more of how my Strawberry Shortcake doll's best friend smelled than a delicious baked good.  Add to that, muffins are notoriously high in fat and calories makes me usually pass.

Until now.

Come to Mama

This recipe unashamedly belongs wholly to America's Test Kitchen.  I saw them make these muffins on an episode of their PBS show (love it) not too long ago and couldn't stop thinking about it.  What makes these special (besides the fact that those kitchen testers probably churned out 157 batches of blueberry muffins before landing on this particular recipe) is that they have really deep, concentrated blueberry flavor thanks to making a "jam" to swirl in to the batter and a crackly topping of lemon sugar.  Those steps add a few minutes to the process but they're totally worth it.

Beware you might consume your day's worth of calories in muffins.  These are best shared with a friend over a cup of coffee (make her take the leftovers).

Blueberry Muffins
Topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Muffins:
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over (*see note if using frozen)
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (**see note)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping, stir together the 1/3 cup sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper middle position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a small sauce pan, bring 1 cup of the blueberries and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook, mashing the blueberries with a spoon and stirring frequently, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temperature, 10-15 minutes.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining cup of sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick and well mixed.  Slowly whisk in the butter and oil until combined.  Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla.  Fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened (the batter will be very lumpy with a few spots of dry flour; do not overmix).  Gently fold in blueberries just until dispersed. 

Fill muffin cups completely full with batter.  Spoon 1 teaspoon of the cooked berry mixture into the center of each cup of batter.  Using a chopstick or skewer, gently swirl the berry filling into the batter using a figure-eight motion (see picture below and also admire my antique muffin tins courtesy of my late Grandma Kaye).

We're swirling, we're swirling...

Sprinkle the lemon sugar evenly over the muffins.

Bake until the muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17-19 minutes.  Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove them and transfer to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving. 

*Note: If using frozen berries, cook 1 cup of berries as directed above.  Rinse the remaining 1 cup berries under cold water and dry well.  Stir blueberries in as directed above as well.

**Note: You can make your own buttermilk substitute.  Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to 1 cup milk and let sit for 2 minutes or combine 3/4 cup plain yogurt with 1/4 cup milk.

Source: The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2010

Mini Pineapple Muffins with Coconut Crumble

 

And, while I'm on a tropical theme (see the last post on Key Lime Bars)...
Last week, I needed to throw together a baked good (and something that I actually had ingredients in my pantry for) for my Bible study girls quickly!  I came across the concept of a pineapple muffin with coconut crumble and I'm so glad I gave these a try!  These sweet little muffins are buttery but still light and the pineapple makes them moist.  The coconut crumble topping adds a perfect, caramel-y, crunch to the soft muffin underneath.  The mini size was perfect for toddlers and mommies alike and there were plenty to go around.  If you don't have access to a mini muffin pan, don't despair, you can bake them regular size too, just increase the baking time to 18-20 minutes!

Pineapple Muffins:
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Coconut Crumble
1/2  cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons reserved flour mixture
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray (or fill cups with paper liners).  Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking powder.  Remove 2 tablespoons of mixture and reserve for crumble.  Set aside remaining flour mixture for later.

To prepare crumble, stir together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour mixture and butter with a fork until butter is worked in and mixture is crumbly.  Stir in coconut and set the mixture aside.
 
For muffin batter, in a medium mixing bowl, cream together 6 tablespoons softened butter and sugar.  Beat until fluffy.  Add in egg, milk, pineapple with juice and vanilla.  Blend together just until combined.  Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula and fold in the flour mixture, stirring just until combined.  The batter will still be lumpy.  Spoon or scoop by tablespoons into prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle teaspoons of crumble topping on each muffin and press down gently.  Place muffin pan in the oven.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Use a butter knife around the edge of each muffin to remove if necessary.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Adapted from: "Cupcakes! From the Cake Doctor" by Anne Byrn

Lemon Butter Muffins

Mmmmm....muffins!  Especially sunny lemon muffins topped with a tangy lemon glaze.  These are simple to prepare and are the perfect balance of sweet and tart.  And there's something about lemons that makes me think of Springtime.  It must be the cheerful lemon yellow color.  Bake up a batch to have with a lazy weekend breakfast or serve with brunch.  They're sure to be such a hit that perhaps the saying should go, "When life hands you lemons, make lemon butter muffins."

Lemon Butter Muffins
Muffins:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice or milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare 12 muffin cups with paper liners.  Prepare the muffin batter.  Place the butter and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer until mixture is fluffy, about 30 seconds.  Add the egg, milk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest (reserve the rest for the glaze) and blend on low speed just until combined.  Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt and fold into wet ingredients, stirring just until combined.  The batter will be a little lumpy.  Spoon batter into muffin cups (each about 2/3 full).  Bake at 400 degrees until the muffins are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed, 18-20 minute (you can also do miniature muffins just bake for 8-10 minutes).  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan.  Remove muffins from pan and allow to cool another 15 minutes before glazing.

While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze.  In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or milk.  Add more juice or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed, to make mixture pourable from a spoon.  Stir in lemon zest.  When muffins have cooled, spoon a teaspoon of glaze over each muffin and let them rest a few minutes to allow the glaze to set.

Recipe adapted from: "Cupcakes! By the Cake Mix Doctor," Anne Byrn (I really like her books and the chapter on muffins is one of my favorites--check it out!)