Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins
If you know me you KNOW I love pumpkin season the very most! Im so excited to kick this season off with this NEW muffin recipe :)
Generally my husband DOES NOT like pumpkin. I got a pumpkin spice latte the other day and begged him to try it..and he nearly spit it out. HAHA. Usually he wont even try my pumpkin recipes as he’s just simply NOT a fan. However- the past few months I have been working my way through muffin flavor variations and he is a big fan of those.
The other day he came home from work & I had these sitting on the stove & was shooting photos in the dining room. He asked me if he could have one & I said of course. I ALMOST said “but they are pumpkin & cream cheese” (he also thinks he hates cream cheese). But..instead I decided to just keep that information to myself. This man LOVED them..he had 2! He is the principle of a school so I typically pack up any of my baked goods to send in with him the next day. I kept a small stash of these in the freezer for us- and send him in with a container of 7 of them.
I about fell over when he told me at the end of the work day “ I was going to share them with the kids..but then I just started eating them and then they we're gone.”. He has NEVER done that before. He doesn’t have a huge sweet tooth and usually only wants a little bit of sugar at the most. Yet it was the PUMPKIN MUFFINS that mad him polish off a whole bag. I was shocked…I still am shocked.
So if this recipe can make a convert out of him- I think its safe to say they are REALLY good and will be loved by just about everyone.
I about fell over when he told me at the end of the work day “ I was going to share them with the kids..but then I just started eating them and then they we're gone.”. He has NEVER done that before. He doesn’t have a huge sweet tooth and usually only wants a little bit of sugar at the most. Yet it was the PUMPKIN MUFFINS that mad him polish off a whole bag. I was shocked…I still am shocked.
So if this recipe can make a convert out of him- I think its safe to say they are REALLY good and will be loved by just about everyone.
Here in the Club there is a growing collection of Bakery Style Muffins! Most have an egg free version. (I believe this is the only one I didn’t include that option with.)
Every Muffin recipe is truly spectacular and yields the FLUFFIEST muffins I have ever had or made gluten free! ou!
The other thing that I love about these muffin recipes is the batch size. You will only ever need 1 standard sized muffin tin. The recipe doubles no problem if you want to make more- and they freeze beautifully. But I think (at least for our home) that 8-10 muffins is the perfect amount.
Using other gluten free all purpose flour blends
The bad news is that there isn’t truly a gluten free measure for measure flour or cup for cup. Its a marketing ploy. There are blends that work decent in place but never exactly. Each and every blend is totally different. For example I LOVE better batter - but in this recipe it would make for some seriously gummy muffins. I chose King Arthur as its lower in gum and therefore I knew my muffins would end up soft, light and delicate.
So of course you are welcome to experiment. But please keep in mind that there are no guarantees. Any change means the recipe will change. I opted to use King Arthur as I think its the easiest gluten free flour blend to come by these days.
Expandex
These muffins are special because of the magic of expandex. It is a modified form of tapioca starch that was formulated to improve gluten free baking. The word Modified tends to worry people- so let me explain further. Essentially they studied tapioca and removed portions of it leaving only the parts that would allow for it to cause amazing elasticity (aka its name) in gluten free recipes. This flour allows me to get an incredible rise with everything I use it in. It traps the air bubbles in the dough just like regular flour with gluten does! Its honestly incredible. If you eat any processed or store bought foods you have eaten many forms of modified starch. Its nothing new- its just semi new to the home baker. Its non gmo and I typically get it from the brand Judee’s on amazon. Under no conditions can you sub it out for another regular starch.
Outside of the US there is a product called Ultratex 3 I have not worked with it but from what I understand its comparable! I would use that in the exact same quantity as the expandex amount that I call for.
Bakery Style Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
To make these muffins dairy free opt for a dairy free cream cheese! While I do like Kite Hill it is not the best for cheesecake or sweet baked good applications. (I prefer it in things like lasagna and ravioli). For cheesecake I think the best option is Tofutti Brand.
Of course the cream cheese can be skipped entirely. The muffins will turn out great either way.
Another fun option- If you would like cream cheese in the center of the muffins in addition to the top swirl. You can double the cream cheese swirl portion of the recipe. Layer it in by filling the muffin cup about 1/3 of the way with pumpkin batter. Add 1 Tbsp of cheesecake swirl to the center. Cover it with the rest of the muffin batter filling them almost to the top. Add the second dollop of cream cheese (2-3 tsp's in quantity) and swirl it in. Bake following the same directions. You may end up with 11-12 muffins rather than 10 if you make them this way.