If I could give this recipe more than 5 stars, I would, they are absolutely DELICIOUS! I made these exactly as written, except I topped mine with a walnut streusel topping before baking instead of just plain nuts. I loved how quick and easy these were to make too...just used a bowl and a whisk and they came together in a snap! I got 20 regular sized muffins out of the recipe and I baked them @ 325 for only 14 minutes (HOT oven). Laurrie, this recipe is PERFECT...Thanks for sharing. :)
I wrote the recipe and then, after reading everyone's reviews, promptly remade it. This time I used about 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of rum extract in the cream cheese and I made an almond struesel for the top. I agree with you all, it's way better with the cream cheese sweetened and flavored. Thanks for the feedback.
These were really good muffins. I added a little powdered sugar to the cream cheese. I found that it was easier to fill the muffin cups part way, add the cream cheese, and then put another spoon of the batter on top. This keeps your cream cheese at the center instead of at the top of your muffins. Next time I will double the cream cheese mixture so that I have more of it in the middle. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made these muffins because of the dark brown sugar and spice combination. The spices were great and the muffins super moist. However, I was confused by the use of baking soda and no baking powder. Baking soda requires an acid in the recipe to work properly and I didn't see an acid listed in these ingredients-so I used 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder (more is required because the leavening power of baking soda is much greater than baking powder)and added 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. I increased the cream cheese to about 6 tablespoons, adding 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. I then put a very thin layer of batter into my muffin cups, added a dollop of the cream cheese, and covered with the rest of the batter-the filling stayed in the middle of the muffins this way. Finally, I added a streusel topping as others have suggested made with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon butter because I wanted to add some more sweetness. I left off the sunflower seeds. The topping MADE the muffins and was definitely my favorite part. This produced 15, not 12, beautiful muffins, and, as I have found with all pumpkin bread recipes, the flavor improves the next day.
My husband loved these but I feel that mine turned out a big gooey. And the cream cheese just sat right atop the muffin versus being concealed inside it. I'd like to mix the cream cheese with some spices or flavorings to give it more kick... it's a nice surprise as is but could pack even more punch.
the batter for this recipe is nice and simple, but the cream cheese did need something, so i found another recipe just like this one that called for 8oz of cheese and 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed well and frozen for about two hours prior to use in a log form in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. I also omitted the sunflower seeds. I suppose if you wanted, you could add some flavoring to the cheese or use a fruit flavored cream cheese.
THESE. ARE. FABULOUS. Didn't have cardamom but they turned out decadently wonderful! Loved Christine's suggestion for walnut streusel topping - yummy. Thanks for a terrific recipe!
These were good - I followed the recipe except for using pecans instead of sunflower seeds. I also replaced 1/2 of the oil with applesauce. These came out moist - my kids liked them but they were not overly excited about the cream cheese - I think I would have liked it better had I added a little sugar to the cream cheese.
Very good muffins. I added a little powdered sugar to the cream cheese and topped with pecans instead of sunflower seeds. I used pumpkin pie mix instead of all the spices and doubled the recipe. Will be my go to recipe from now on...
