Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

So I went in to work today and realized that I was one of two or three people who decided to come in on Veterans Day. So, what better time to go home early and bake? This is the second time I have made these delicious muffins! They are easy and yummy and this is the recipe that christened my KA mixer.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 oz cheesecake filling cream cheese (if you can't find cheesecake cream cheese, you can mix regular cream cheese with sugar and vanilla for a similar effect)
chopped pumpkin seeds or walnuts or pecans (optional - I used pecans)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Place the brick of cream cheese on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper and shape it into a long log. Put this in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour.
Mix all ingredients except cream cheese and nuts together.
Fill 2 greased 12-muffin tins half full (I actually ended up filling them about 3/4 full in order to use all the batter).
Remove the cream cheese from the freezer, unwrap and cut with a sharp knife so that each slice equals 1-2 teaspoons. You may need to cut each slice in half.
Place the cream cheese pieces in the middle of the muffins, pressing down.



Sprinkle each muffin with roughly 1 tsp of chopped nuts. I used pecans and even though I am not a huge nut-fan they really made the recipe and I'm glad I used them.



Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick come out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese).
Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. The cream cheese gets really hot so wait until its completely cool before eating.



Makes 24 muffins. Recipe found at Recipe Zaar.