Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins & September Fall Crawl's 1st Stop

 

Before I get to my muffins, I wanted to let you all know about a fabulous Fall-inspired blog hop I will be taking part in over the next two weeks. Marilyn from The Artsy Girl Connection has put together a fabulous line up of bloggers to share fall-inspired recipes, crafts, projects, etc. Marilyn started the crawl today with the cutest pumpkin project. Head on over to her blog to check it out!!!

Fall Crawl Schedule

Sept 19th - Marilyn - http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com/
Sept 20th - Kellie - http://happybabychronicles.com/
Sept 21st - Letty - http://bellavidabyletty.blogspot.com/
Sept 22nd - Lorie - http://www.readingconfetti.blogspot.com/
Sept 23rd - Abby - http://dirtontherocks.com/  
Abby's will also include our 1st blog hop Linky Party
Sept 24th Tracy - http://tracycooksitright.blogspot.com/
Sept 25th - Kimba - http://kimbas2cents.blogspot.com/
Sept 26th - Jacqueline - http://mukweto.blogspot.com/
Sept 27th - Jillian - FoodFolksandFun.blogspot.com
Sept 28th – Kim & Lars http://larskim.com/
Sept 29th - Deia http://loveandtangles.blogspot.com/
Sept 30th - Meli - http://melifaif.blogspot.com/
October 1st - Renee - http://renee-joyjourney.blogspot.com/

Renee's will be our Second blog hop /Linky Party

October 2nd - Giveaway & thanks to all that joined us in on the crawl!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
I always associate anything pumpkin with fall. Fall here in Arizona means: the temperature has finally dipped below 100°F, we can get cold water from the faucet again (during the summer it’s only warm or hot water from the faucet), and you can sun bathe by the pool without completely melting!

These muffins were so deliciously aromatic and filled the house with the most amazing smell. I can’t decide if they smelt better or tasted better. Try them for yourself and you decide!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

For the filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 C confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 C all-purpose flour
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cloves
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
4 large eggs
2 C sugar
2 C pumpkin puree
1¼ C vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ C sugar
5 T flour
1½ t ground cinnamon
4 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 T chopped pecans

Directions:

For the filling:

Combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter.  Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil.  Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 6 hours.

For the muffin batter:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line muffin pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil.  Mix on medium-low speed until blended.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

For the topping:

Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend.  Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.  Add the chopped pecans and mix until incorporated. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins:

Fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons).  Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces.  Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well.  Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.  Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. Wait for the muffins to cool for about 30 minutes, and then enjoy! (It will be super tempting to bite right into one of these muffins right away, but you want to wait because the cream cheese filling is super hot right out of the oven!)

Makes 24 muffins

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Skip to My Lou
Tip Me Tuesday
Today’s Creative Blog

Cheddar Dill Scones

De-li-cious! These scones are my new favorite dinner-time accompaniments. There are SO many different possibilities and variations with these scones like parmesan & sun-dried tomato, cilantro, pepper jack, & jalapeño, etc. I can’t wait to try variations of this recipe and share them here with you, so stay tuned!

P.S. These would be great for brunch!

Cheddar Dill Scones

Ingredients:

4 C plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

2 T baking powder

2 t salt

3/4 pound (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

4 extra-large eggs, beaten lightly

1 C cold heavy cream

1/2 pound extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, small-diced

1 C minced fresh dill

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.

Mix the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until just blended.

Toss together the Cheddar, dill, and 1 tablespoon of flour and add them to the dough. Mix until they are almost incorporated.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it for 1 minute, until the Cheddar and dill are well distributed.

Roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch squares and then in half diagonally to make triangles.

***If you don’t have a 4-inch square cookie cutter, then: divide the dough into 2 equal pieces using a bench scraper. Pat each half of the dough into an 8-inch round cake pan, evenly distributing the dough. Invert the pans onto the counter so the dough releases from the pans. At this point, your dough should be in a perfect circle. Cut each circle into 8 pieces.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

Makes 16 large scones

Source: Adapted from Ina Garten for the Food Network

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Skip to My Lou
Tip Me Tuesday
Today’s Creative Blog