Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside. Chop the pepitas. Set aside.
2. Prepare the cream cheese filling by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl. Fill a pastry bag with the cream cheese mix.*** Set aside. If you don't have a pastry bag, use a Ziploc bag and cut off the corner.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, white and brown sugar, vegetable oil, pumpkin spice extract, and eggs.
5. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture. Whisk just until all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients and there are no lumps.
6. Using a 3T. cookie scoop, add the batter to the prepared muffin liners. It should make approximately 17 muffins.
7. Gently tap the pan(s) to level out the batter and sprinkle the edges with the chopped pepitas. It's alright if a bit gets into the center.
8. Take the pastry bag with the cream mix and insert the tip into the center of each muffin, about 1/4 ways in. Swirl it around while squeezing out a good size 1 - 2 tsp. of cream cheese. I make large circles of cream cheese as this ensures a bit of cream cheese with every bite when eating the top. The other option is to make a smaller circle, but go about 1/2 way into the muffin batter. If you have any leftover cream cheese, go back through and deposit more cream cheese on the muffins. Tip: try not to leave peaks on the cream cheese as these can burn or over brown when baking.
9. Place in a 350°F oven on the center rack for 16 - 17 minutes. Let muffins rest in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Serve warm**** or let cool completely before eating.
10. Store muffins in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat cold muffins, place in the microwave for 15 seconds. Muffins can be stored in the freezer after completely cooling, but the cream cheese might have a bit of textural change. To reheat, place in the microwave with a damp paper towel covering the muffin and heat in 15 second increments until desired temperature. It can also be left out to defrost to room temperature if eating the same day.