Biscoff Streusel Pumpkin Muffins

Fall screams baking to me! How about you? I've been on a muffin kick lately and this recipe is just another product of my obsession with pumpkin puree. My pantry is full of it, dangerously full of it, so prepare yourself for more pumpkin-packed recipes in the future ;) Anyway, back to these bad boys. I originally share this recipe over at Lil' Luna a few weeks ago, but now I get to share it here with you. These muffins are a pumpkin/Biscoff/cream cheese lover's dream. I know that there's kind of a lot going on here, but trust me, it all works. Here's what I did- I started off by making a really simple spiced batter, then topped it with slices of cream cheese, and then sprinkled over it a chunky speculoos streusel. The cream cheese helps to bind the muffin and the topping together and gives it a tangy creamy component that it really needs. I decided to bake my muffins in a taller and larger cupcake liner so that they'd be more like bakery-style muffins, but you don't need to worry about them overflowing if you're using standard liners or even just spray. These have turned out to be one of my new favorite muffins, I hope you'll think the same too!

Biscoff Streusel Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

1½ c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
1 c. pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
2 eggs
¼ c. vegetable oil
¼ c. unsweetened applesauce
¼ c. water
¾ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Streusel:

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

¼ c. all-purpose flour

¼ c. finely crushed Biscoff cookies

2 tbsp. Biscoff spread

3 tbsp. butter, cold

4 oz. original cream cheese, cold and cut into dime size slices

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one standard size muffin pan with liners or grease with baking spray, set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with mixing speed on low, combine sugars, puree, vegetable oil, applesauce, water, and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.

3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cinnamon. With mixing speed on low, gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing until no flour pockets remain. Remove bowl from stand and set aside.

4. For the streusel, in a small mixing bowl combine sugars, flour, crushed cookies, and ground cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in cold butter and Biscoff spread. Continue working the mixture with the pastry blender until it resembles chunks about the size of a rice krispie. 

5. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, dividing evenly. Top with slices of cream cheese, then sprinkle streusel over top. You will want to be generous with the streusel, but you may have a few tablespoons left over. Gently pat the streusel into the batter to help it bake into the muffin. 

6. Place in oven and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops spring back and the streusel is golden brown in color (note: baking times may vary depending on how much you streusel you add and the heat of your oven). Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Libby's Pumpkin Cranberry Bread | Makes 12 standard size muffins