I Needed My Pumpkin Fix

In honor of my crazed pumpkin fix, I went to Starbucks yesterday. I had heard the Pumpkin Spice Latte was back; the same Pumpkin Spice Latte that got me through law school (alive, I mean... not with flying colors or anything).

If you've been to Starbucks before, then you know that they also have cute little chalkboards with recommendations on them. I was feeling saucy, so I listened to the little board and went with the Pumpkin Spice Latte/Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin combo.

I kicked myself in the ass for it the rest of the day. I don't know why, but Starbucks' pastries always make me feel really sick. I'm sort of okay with the Banana Loaf, but the Crumble Coffee Cake and now the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin really do me in. It was stomach grumbling and pain the rest of the day, but it was so damned delicious that I'd probably do it again in a heartbeat.

And if you'd like to try to make your own (I know I haven't made a great case for them, but they really are amazing!), I found a recipe on this blog:

Almost-Like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

As promised, my recipe for pumpkin cream cheese muffins. They are very close to the kind you can buy at Starbucks - special thanks to J and G for being my tasters and suggesting additional ingredients. I took a recipe for pumpkin bread, added lots more spices and the cream cheese, and here you go. They are wonderful hot, but be very careful of the cream cheese - it gets very very hot and you could burn yourself. That would totally ruin your experience.

Almost-Like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
8 oz package cream cheese*
Chopped nuts** (walnuts, pecans) (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients together except cream cheese and nuts. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full. Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese in the middle, pressing down. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes 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. Do not touch the cream cheese until it cools, as it is very very hot. Makes 24 muffins.

*The best cream cheese to use is the cheesecake flavored kind. Put the entire tub or brick on a piece of tin foil, and shape it into a long log. Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour. Unwrap and cut with a sharp knife. If the disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. This keeps the cream cheese in one big lump, and also lets you push it down into the batter.

**Starbucks uses chopped pumpkin seeds, which is very good if you can find them. I like walnuts, but any kind of nuts work good.