Canned pumpkin put to good use

The real deal: check out those sugared pumpkin seeds.

I graduated from a prestigious liberal arts college in May, 2005, with a real degree in writing and a minor in journalism, and, after a brief stint in Seattle, I moved to Wichita to get a grown-up job with my college skills.

However, I ended up using another talent I learned in college: the ability to sling lattes. I worked as a shift supervisor at one of the top ten busiest drive-thru Starbucks stores in the country after college. What an... eventful time in my life. I learned to rock the green apron and a headset, to make tasty beverages fast, and to draw personalized Sharpie pictures and messages (Have a great day!) on cups in under 15 seconds. My fellow partners and I literally bonded over coffee, and some of those friendships are going strong today.

I learned to see the seasons through the lens of a Starbucks drink menu. Spring was iced teas, smoothies, and dainty cookies. Summers floated by in frappuccinos and clouds of fresh whipped cream. I kept cozy in the winter with peppermint mochas (topped with the special red sprinkles) ginger loaf, and the occasional chai eggnog. But in the fall, my favorite beverage arrived: the pumpkin spice latte, and it's prom date, the pumpkin cream cheese muffin. Starbucks would bring these warming treats into customer's lives on November 1st and take them away as soon the holidays ended. Harsh move, Starbucks.

As the November leaves fell, we sold boxes and boxes (and boxes) of pumpkin cream cheese muffins. I remember the amount because my supervisor duties included keeping the pastry case stocked and gorgeous. I considered it a calming, zen task. I could forget when drive thru window looked like a battlefield strewn with dead cups or the arrival of that peculiar man who wanted his dry, dry soy cappuccino while I piled scones and muffins high.

We kept our freezer stuffed with these muffins at all times. I enjoyed their subtle goodness and variety. Crunchy-sweet pumpkin seeds on top, spiced cake beneath, filled with sugared cream cheese. And, after handling literally hundreds of them, I know a real Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffin when I see one.

I searched the Internet tonight for a recipe that could capture these qualities. There was no one, definitive recipe out there. So, I threw a few strong contenders together and made tweaks to match my memories, and I think we have a winner.

Pumpkin cream cheese muffins
makes 12 normal muffins or 6 Starbucks-sized muffins

For the muffins

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ground flax (optional)
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
• 1 cup pumpkin pie filling (the higher quality, the richer the taste)
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tb full fat yogurt or salad oil

For the filling

• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• 3 Tb. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla (optional)
  

Topping

• 1/4 cup raw or toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 Tb. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. sugar
• ground cinnamon for sprinkling
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake papers. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and flax, then set aside. In a larger bowl, beat eggs for a minute, then whisk in pumpkin, sugar, and yogurt. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing just enough to blend everything together. Spoon batter into the pan, filling each well 2/3 full. Set aside.

In another bowl, cut cream cheese into small chunks and whip together with maple syrup and vanilla until smooth and consistent in texture. Spoon this mixture into a pastry bag with a shaped tip or use the corner of a plastic bag to pipe cream cheese into the center of each muffin. I made sure to get the cream cheese mixture at least halfway down into the batter, so there was cream cheese in each bite.

Using your now-empty flour bowl, quickly toss the remaining maple syrup, sugar, and pumpkin seeds together until the seeds are well coated. Sprinkle the seeds on the top of the muffins for a tasty garnish. Lightly dust the tops of the muffins with cinnamon and bake them for 20-25 minutes. They're done when a toothpick inserted into the largest muffin (not the cream cheese filling) comes out clean. These muffins are even better the next day. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for a week. Not that they'll last that long.

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In Memory of Aunt Rheba
Miss Rita's Banana Bread
Chai-spiced pumpkin bread