The holiday season is officially upon us, which means it’s time for me to go into elf mode. This time of year is my favorite. I love the magic of Christmas. I plan on putting up decorations all around my house with my teddy bear figurines, snow globe, pink Christmas tree, and the family Christmas tree in the living room with ornaments galore this weekend. I love buying gifts for my family and friends, putting too much tape on their presents and baking lots and lots of treats. I have been watching the Christmas Cookie Challenge and all the holiday baking shows on the Food Network, and it inspired me to try some new recipes and order new cookie cutters. I know the holidays are looking different this year, but baking, holiday movies, and Christmas decorations keep me in good spirits. If you need cheering up, hop into the kitchen with the family and make a delicious sweet treat. Then, snuggle in the living with hot cocoa and watch one of your favorite holiday movies.

This week, I would like to share my take on pumpkin muffins with a cheesecake filling in the middle, topped with honey, maple granola. My leftover ingredients from Thanksgiving and my caramel apple cheesecake recipe inspired my new muffin recipe. They are moist and sweet and taste just like a slice of pumpkin cheesecake, so if you love cheesecake and pumpkin spice, you will love this muffin recipe. The following recipe makes nine large muffins or a dozen medium size muffins.

Photo by Destiny Constantin

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins Inspired by The Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
• ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ cup of cane sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt

 Cheesecake Filling:

• 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tbsp salted butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Toppings:

• Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Maple and Sea Salt flavored Granola
• Pumpkin Spice
• Honey

Instructions For Making The Pumpkin Muffin Batter

1. Gather all of your ingredients and begin measuring out all of your dry ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together the eggs, brown sugar, and cane sugar. Mix until well-combined. Then, add the yogurt, pumpkin puree, and oil. Mix until all the ingredients are together, and scrape the bowl’s sides if necessary to make sure everything has been incorporated.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

4. Add the dry ingredients, ½ cup at a time, then stir the batter thoroughly until the flour mixture is all gone.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

5. Fill a muffin liner about ¼ full with the batter. Repeat with the remaining liners, then set aside so that you can make the filling.

Instructions For Making The Cheesecake Filling

1. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out the heavy whipping cream.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
3. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium speed until perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

4. Add the egg, sour cream, and lemon juice. Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and combined. Make sure there are no large lumps of cream cheese. If there are lumps, keep beating until smooth.
5. In the bowl of the stand mixer, add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on medium-low speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Be careful not to overwhip your cream.
6. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until combined. This takes several turns of your rubber spatula. Combine slowly as you don’t want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

Preparing Muffins For Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Scoop one to two teaspoons of the cream cheese filling into the muffin pan. Be careful not to put too much filling because you need to leave room to add another one to two teaspoons of the muffin batter.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

3. Pour the granola into a small bowl and add the honey and pumpkin spice to it. Mix until well-combined, then sprinkle the granola topping on the top of the muffins.
4. Once you have filled the pan, place the muffins in the oven.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

5. Bake the muffins for thirty minutes; they may take longer. I had to bake my muffins for about forty minutes due to the deep muffin pan I used. If you are making the medium size muffins, they will take about twenty minutes.
6. Bake until the muffins are browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
   

   Photo by Destiny Constantin

7. Allow the muffins to cool for twenty minutes, then remove them to a plate or cooling rack to cool entirely.

I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I had fun making it. Get yourself ready for work or school, grab a muffin and a cup of coffee. Sit down at the kitchen table, make yourself a to-do list for the day. Then conquer the day and be awesome. I love taking recipes from one of my favorite bloggers or food network stars and giving it my own magical twist.

Photo by Destiny Constantin