I’ll be honest here. These muffins were never meant to be.

These were plan B. My impromptu backup plan.

Plan A? That would be my first attempt at making a pumpkin roll. When it was time to roll the cake part it just.. completely fell apart. Since I still had some leftover pumpkin and didn’t get to use the cream cheese for the filling, I figured I’d come up with something else. Like muffins. With cream cheese glaze. And a delicious crumb topping like the one I made on that scrumptious blueberry pie.

I wasn’t expecting much. Just something I could bake up real quick and bring to work to my co-workers so they wouldn’t be mad at me for not bringing the pumpkin roll I promised them.

Then.. I took a bite and realized this should have been plan A all along. These muffins are moist and bursting with pumpkin flavor. The cream cheese glaze really compliments it (uh, what doesn’t cream cheese go good with??) and the crumb topping adds a pleasant, sugar-y crunch on top.

I’ve always said I’d take a cupcake over a muffin any day, but these muffins give cupcakes a run for their money.

Pumpkin Crumb Muffins With Cream Cheese Glaze:
Ingredients: (makes 12)

For the crumb-
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the muffins-
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree (I use Libby’s)

For the cream cheese glaze-
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk, for thinning

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. First make the crumb topping- stir together the butter, flour, and brown sugar, and salt and squeeze the mixture into clumps with your hands and scatter on a baking sheet. Freeze for at 30 minutes. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in one egg at a time. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin until combined. Then, beat in the dry ingredients just until there aren’t any dry spots- being careful not to overmix. Scoop the batter into a lined muffin pan using a regular ice cream scooper or just filling it 3/4 of the way full. Top the batter with the frozen crumb topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Let cool completely before glazing. To make the glaze beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add milk by the teaspoons for thinning. Glaze and enjoy!