Stinky Pumpkin Makes a Fine Muffin

Pumpkin isn't one of my favorite flavors.  I mean sure, pumpkin spice is nice - but that's just a bunch of spices mixed together to make an amazing mix.  Add the actual pumpkin to it?  Eh... it's OK.

I was asked to make pumpkin muffins for a Women's Tea - and I knew I had some pumpkin in the freezer.  You see... we are 'those' kind of people who make our own applesauce, can our own tomatoes, dry our own herbs, and cook down our fall pumpkins to bake with them.  Well, I don't do that part, my parents do.   And oh my, does their house stink after cooking pumpkins down.  Yuck.  They use a pressure cooker older than my dad, well... almost older, and pressure cook the water right out and they are left with perfect pumpkin for pies, cakes, and - you guessed it - muffins.

I often donate pumpkins to the cause so I had a container of such said pumpkin in my freezer for these muffins.  The muffins turned out amazing.  Did they taste like pumpkin?  I don't know.  They were filled with warm fall spices and were super moist and delicious, but tasting like pumpkin?  Ok sure.  All I know is they were very good.  I'd make them again - I might even cook my own pumpkin down... well, that's going too far.  I might drive my pumpkins 45 minutes north to my parents' house to do that instead.  Let's be real.

Pumpkin Crumb Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze

For the Muffin Base:

1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup pumpkin puree

½ cup Greek yogurt

For the Crumb Topping: 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup chopped pecans

For the Glaze: 

4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Milk, as needed, for thinning

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a muffin pan with baking cup liners and set aside.

First, make the muffin base. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to a large bowl and whisk until evenly distributed. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted butter, both sugars, eggs, pumpkin puree, and greek yogurt. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and gently stir just until no large streaks of flour remain. Set aside.

Then, make the crumble. Whisk together the flour, both sugars, and the pumpkin pie spice in a medium-sized bowl. Pour in the melted butter, a bit at a time, and stir until pea-sized crumbs form.

Fill the lined muffin pan with the muffin batter to the top of each baking cup. Top generously with the crumb topping, gently pressing it down so the crumbs stick in the batter.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 15 more minutes.

Keep the muffins in the pan to cool as you make the cream cheese glaze.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well-combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract and thin with milk, as needed.

Drizzle the glaze over the muffins and serve.