Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins #Recipe by @LibbyKlein

 Libby Klein Back in the day, before I knew I had Celiac, I would visit my local coffee shop chain when the weather turned chilly and order one of these with a caramel macchiato.  They were heavenly even if they did use up an entire day's calorie allotment. #WorthIt! After going gluten-free, a trip to Starbucks - I mean - my local coffee shop chain, would result in me feeling sorry for myself that I could not have my special treat. Well, where there's a craving, there's a recipe. And this is one of about four copycat recipes that I make. Although, I have zhushed it up a bit with a crumbly topping that includes toasted pecans and pumpkin seeds.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Yield 12

FOR THE FILLING:

6 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

FOR THE MUFFINS:

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum (You can use AP Flour if you're not gluten-free)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

1 cups sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2/3 cups vegetable oil

FOR THE TOPPING:

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 ½ tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice

2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds

¼ cup chopped pecans

4 tablespoons cold butter

Instructions

Prepare the Filling. Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Chill until ready to assemble.

 

Prepare the Topping. Combine topping ingredients in a small mixing bowl and blend until crumbly. Set aside.

 

Prepare the Muffin Batter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. Add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

 Assemble the muffins. Fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). I added too much to my muffin cups and the cheesecake is at the top of the muffin instead of in the middle. 

Place a scoop of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each muffin well. I use a small cookie scoop, but you can use a teaspoon if you want. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Top the cream cheese with the remaining batter, covering the cream cheese completely. Divide the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells evenly. Press down slightly.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving or the cheesecake filling will run all over. 

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in the latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series! - 

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .
 
While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . .
 
Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!
 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/