Pumpkin Muffins With Spiced Cream Cheese Filling

from "healthy food for living" - http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/?p=12683

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• Muffins

• 2  cups  sifted whole wheat pastry flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄2 cup  packed dark brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  unsulfured molasses
• 1⁄4 cup canola oil
• 2  large eggs, lightly whisked
• 1  cup pumpkin puree
• 1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 cup  lowfat buttermilk
• 1⁄4 cup  raw unsalted  pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

• Filling

• 3  ounces  neufchatel cream cheese, room temperature
• 1  tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  ground pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper cups.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese, evaporated cane juice, and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice until well mixed. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg).
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, molasses, oil, and eggs until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, vanilla, and buttermilk.
5. Add dry ingredients into wet and stir just until fully moistened.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup a little less than half way full; smooth batter with back of a spoon to even out. Spoon about 1 heaping tsp of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each cup. Top with remaining batter. Each cup will be almost completely full. Smooth tops with back of a spoon.
7. Sprinkle each filled muffin cup with a few pepitas.
8. Bake muffins for 20-23 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (a bit of cream cheese clinging to the toothpick is fine, but there shouldn’t be any raw batter).
9. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and let cool completely.