with cream cheese filling
Cream Cheese Filling – 8 ounces cream cheese – 1 cup powdered sugar Streusel Topping – 1 cup all-purpose flour – 1/4 cup brown sugar – 1/4 cup white granulated sugar – 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon – 1/2 cup cold butter cut into small pieces Muffin Batter – 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour – 2 cups white granulated sugar – 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice – 1 teaspoon baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon salt – 3 eggs – 1/2 cup vegetable oil – 15 ounces pure pumpkin puree – 2 cups apples peeled, cored, chopped
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin pan with muffin cups. Cream Cheese Filling – In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar using a hand mixer or mix vigorously by hand until creamy and smooth. Cover and place in freezer to chill while you make the muffins. (do not allow to fully freeze) Streusel Topping – In a small bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until it resembles course crumbles. Set aside.
Muffin Batter – In a large bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, mix eggs, oil, and pumpkin and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in apples. – Scoop the batter (about the size of one heaping tablespoon) into the muffin cups. Using a teaspoon, scoop the cream cheese filling and place into the center of the muffin batter in each muffin cup. Fill each cup with the remain muffin batter until it reaches 2/3 full. Top each muffin with streusel topping (around 1/4 cup) or until it completely covers the batter. – Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. The top should be lightly browned and a toothpick inserted just off the center of the muffin comes out clean. – Transfer to a wire rack and allow to completely cool. Eat warm or cooled.