A few days ago I woke up way too early to let my dog outside and felt something glorious: a CHILL in the air. It FINALLY feels like a true fall here in Tennessee and I am here for it. Of course, this being Tennessee, next week might have temps back in the 70s. Whatever.
I can’t make all the yummy fall treats when it’s hot outside — it feels wrong — so I’m not wasting one second of these cooler temps.
I am a true Basic mom in that I love all things pumpkin. Pumpkin spice is truly nice. Pumpkin breads, rolls, pies…heck, I’ve even sampled the pumpkin cheerios. (Side note: stay away from the pumpkin cheerios. Your intestines will thank you. You don’t want to be driving anywhere after having a bowl of those. Just sayin’.)
The inspiration for this recipe came from a love affair with the food blog Sally’s Baking Addiction. A sweet friend turned me onto her site and all her amazing recipes, and I have been hooked ever since. She has a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake muffins that is “The Face” worthy. You know what face I’m talking about. Those muffins do that to you. Try them and see if I’m lying. Go ahead.
As much as I adore those muffins, they feel like dessert and not something for which I want to reach for a quick breakfast. I wanted the pumpkin and cream cheese flavors, so I set out to make something less sweet and more appropriate for grab and go breakfasts.
This recipe is great to make with your children — there’s lots of mixing and swirling, which is the best part according to my daughter. I like to do all the measuring, but leave the stirring, egg cracking, and pouring to my little sous chef. The best part is putting the dollops of *barely* sweet cream cheese on top and swirling with a toothpick or fork. You can do a layering method instead where you put a spoonful of batter, then a dollop of cream cheese, and repeat, but that’s too much effort for me. I want to eat these as soon as possible, so a little swirl action works best for us.
This is not a dessert sweet muffin.
It definitely has sweetness, but the tanginess of the cream cheese cuts through nicely. I think these are perfect for quick breakfasts and they freeze well. Of course, I’ve only made these ONE TIME so I had enough leftover to freeze, but still. They froze really well; just thaw what you want for tomorrow’s breakfast and do a quick warm in the microwave. Bam. A nice warm, pumpkin-y, fall worthy breakfast that you can take on the go. That’s pretty much nirvana to this busy mom.
